


A tale of love and loss

by Danyren



Category: Loki - Fandom, MCU, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), sigyn - Fandom
Genre: Angst and Feels, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Female Protagonist, Love at First Sight, MCU parallel story, POV Female Character, References to Norse Religion & Lore, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-08 14:12:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 41,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14107095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danyren/pseuds/Danyren
Summary: An imaginary storyline where Loki would have known true love with Sigyn and how that storyline would have fit in with the rest of the events in the MCU.





	1. Prelude (The following events took place on the night of the Big Battle against the Frost Giants)

**Author's Note:**

> To the general public, some considerations before reading this fic:
> 
> -I decided to write this down because I got very interested on developing a parallel storyline where Loki would have known true love and how that storyline would have fit in with the rest of the events in the MCU. I know there are many other fics about this same subject, but this is how I imagine it would have been.  
> -Even though I love the idea of Loki being interested on both men and women, for the purpose of this fic I decided to go with an heterosexual love relationship, this is, Loki + a woman.  
> -His love interest is Sigyn, a very well-known character in Norse mythology (as well as in Marvel comics). Im taking some creative licence and not following exactly their story as it was written in mythology or comics, so it can fit into the MCU events.  
> -Visual guides are extremely helpful, more when introducing a character who we have not seen ever in the MCU. The Sigyn I am presenting to you has its physical representation in Eva Green.  
> -This is my first fic written entirely in English, so it could reach as much people as possible who may want to read it. I’m sorry if my grammar or writing style is not so good or as fluent as I would have wanted to. I did my best! Hope you enjoy it.

The young pregnant woman was lying unconscious over the golden bed. Her face was pale and her hands crisped, resting besides her body. Her breathing was weak and sporadic.

It had been a very complicated procedure, even though giving birth on Asgard was not really that complicated, not with all the technological advances and elaborated magical remedies.This young lady, however, was loosing so much blood from the open wound she had on her head.

"Is there something else we could do?", one of the midwives said. "I am afraid she will not survive this"

The older of the midwives was sweating, trying to get the baby out of the mother and contain the hemorrhage at the same time. She was moving her hands very slowly, redirecting the delicate golden strings that floated above the young lady’s body to her belly.

"I’m going to need a lot of energy to do this. Help me!" she commanded.

The four midwives positioned themselves, each at a side of the rectangular bed. Then they put their arms up horizontally and started controlling the golden strings with their hands. There was a very luminous light on the strings, and then they all converged on a big bright yellow ball of light, right upon the young lady’s rounded belly.

"NOW!" the older midwife yelled, and the four of them made an intense and visible effort to turn the ball into a tunnel of light. It was very difficult and the mother was getting weaker and weaker.

After a few seconds, the light was over. The four women kept their eyes closed and their hands down. They were breathing heavily, not sure if they wanted to open their eyes and watch for themselves the results of that procedure.

The cry of a baby broke the silence.

Slowly, they opened their eyes and found the baby, alive and well, crying loudly besides the mother’s body.

"It’s a little Asgardian girl" said the older midwife, taking the baby on her arms. The other three got together to admire that precious baby and her big turquoise eyes.

The youngest midwife turned to the mother, ready to tell her everything went out fine, but that beautiful young lady was never going to hear it.

She was already dead.

—————————————————-

“My King, it is such an honor to have you here”

All the medical personnel on that big, decorated room stopped doing their labors and stood firm on a line to present their respects to Odin, King of Asgard. He had just come from an intense battle with the Frost Giants, and many injured soldiers had arrived to that building with him. Odin was carrying something on his arms, covered by capes and rests of military uniforms. His right eye was missing.

"Oh, my King, you are injured! Please come this way!"

"I am alive and well, I do not need anything"

"But your eye…"

"It is lost. Nothing compared to the amount of Asgardian lives that were lost today", he paused for a moment, watching the curious package he was carrying. "Take me to Alfhilda, head of the midwives"

"As you wish, my King. Follow me"

 —————————————————-

The young lady’s body was being covered on a black blanket when Odin came into the room. The midwives stood up and presented their respects to the King.

"Alfhilda, I need to talk to you. In private"

She dismissed the rest of the women with a hand gesture, still carrying the baby, who was sleeping.

"My King… you are injured"

"I have another eye. Not a big loss" Odin approached the bed where the young woman had died, and carefully put over it the package he was carrying. "I need you to see something, but first, who is that baby you are carrying?"

"She is the daughter of Valtar, who I believe is one of your main generals"

"Was, one of my main generals"

"Oh, no..."

"Valtar died fighting the Frost Giants. I saw him lying dead on the ice, before Laufey attacked me"   

"Oh, poor girl", Alfhilda brought her closer to her chest, as if she wanted to protect her of something. "Poor, poor girl. She is an orphan now, her mother Magga was brought here after she had an accident"

"An accident?"

"She fell down some stairs and got heavily injured on the head. We tried to save her but the golden energy decided to save the baby instead"  

Odin looked at the dead body lying on the floor, covered by the black blanket.

"Such a shame… such a shame"

"And you, my King? May I know what is that you want me to see?"

"Come closer to the bed"

The old woman put the baby girl carefully besides the covered package that was lying on the bed. Odin then proceeded to remove all the capes and pieces of uniform, to reveal another baby, sleeping peacefully. Alfhilda looked at him and then to the King, confused.

"I want you to examine him and tell me if he is out of danger. If he has any injury, or infection"

"You will have to leave me alone with him for a moment, my King"

—————————————————-

"Do you like him? Huh?"

Alfhilda spoke affectionately to the baby girl, who was looking at the other baby with a curious expression. Both of them were lying on the bed, side by side.

"I just have to check him up…" Alfhilda continued, ready to take him on her arms. "See if he’s injured or something…"   

She touched him and couldn’t believe what she felt: that baby was freezing, his corporal temperature was extremely low.

"You are so cold, little one. So, so cold. How is it possible you are even alive?"

The baby opened his eyes and looked at her. He seemed to be comfortable.

"Let me see you a little bit closer", Alfhilda carried him and both babies looked at each other. The baby boy made a sound that seemed like a laugh.

"Do you like her?", Alfhilda asked him. "She is the most beautiful baby girl I’ve ever seen. When you grow up, you should be friends"   

She continued exploring him. Besides from his corporal temperature, he seemed to be perfectly fine.  

—————————————————-

"Go and spread the good news, my dutiful soldiers", Odin was talking to the rest of his army, the ones who weren’t as injured to walk by themselves, gathered around the Golden Medical Center-. Tell all Asgard we are back, and the war with the Frost Giants is finally over. Laufey was defeated and his power taken away from him. Long centuries of prosperity are ahead of us.

As soon as the soldiers left, Odin came back to the nursery room with Alfhilda. The baby he just brought was alright, with no wounds or sickness. “His corporal temperature worries me, my King -she said-. It is extremely low”. He assured her that was perfectly normal.

Before the King went back to the palace, he made Alfhilda promise she would never talk about that visit to anyone. “You have my word, my King”, she said, and watched him as he left the medical center. She was still carrying the baby girl on her arms when she made the promise.

Some moments later, Alfhilda called Eyja, the woman who had brought Magga to the medical center, and gave her the baby.

"Magga did not survive, but her child is alive. It is your duty to take care of her from now on"

"But of course", responded Eyja with teary eyes, taking the baby. "Magga was my best friend and my neighbor. I saw how she stepped on her dress and fell down those stairs. It was a horrible accident"

“I will raise this girl as if she was mine”.

 

Eyja returned back home, where the whole city was already celebrating the end of the war with the Frost Giants.

"You, sweet, beautiful creature", said Eyja, looking adoringly at the baby. "I will call you Sigyn"


	2. PART I  (Simultaneously with the events in the THOR movie)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thousands of years after the events described in the Prelude. How Loki and Sigyn encountered again and fell in love.

**I**

The Sun was shining bright up the Asgardian sky. Sigyn loved how the golden glow from the buildings reflected on that lake inside the city, creating a peaceful atmosphere. The leaves on the tall trees that surrounded that place moved rhythmically with the wind. She sat down on a golden bench and opened the bag she was carrying, taking out the new book Eyja gave to her as a birthday present. Sigyn had been interested on herbal medicine and magic since she was a child, and that book was a compound of natural remedies learnt from generation to generation.  

Many centuries have passed since that horrible night when both her parents died and she was adopted by Eyja. Sigyn knew the whole truth about her origin, and even though that tragedy would always be a permanent pain on her soul, she had grown up to become an intelligent, sensitive and kind young woman.

Besides that, Sigyn possessed a beauty that was both admired and envied by all women on Asgard, a beauty that made her the subject of attention from many Asgardian men and warriors desperate to win her heart. The conquest wasn’t an easy one, and Sigyn enjoyed being alone most of times, without paying attention to those men. One of them, Theoric, had proposed to her a couple of weeks ago but she kindly refused.

She had been attracted to another man since a long time ago.

An impossible love.  

—————————————————-

_“This plant could be used to prepare a magical tonic who can reduce physical pain, however, it could be poisonous if used in excess… “_

Sigyn interrupted her lecture and looked to her left. Some meters away, a group of Asgardians had gathered around one of the trees and were exclaiming cheers of joy, but she didn't understand why. She went on with her lecture, or at least she tried to, because a few seconds later the cheers of joy became louder and she could hear surprised gasps as well.

Intrigued, she closed her book and focused on the tree, trying to spot on what the Asgardians were looking at. With surprise, she saw a human figure balancing dangerously on the branches. The tree was one of the tallest on sight, any fall from that height would be extremely painful.

“What a fool -she thought-. What are you doing there? Get down now!”

Some excruciating minutes passed by while the figure (a blonde man, it seemed) kept jumping from one branch to the other without any visible hesitation or doubt. When he came down all the Asgardians who were around the tree erupted in cries of joy and applauses.  

“He must have done it to show off -thought Sigyn-. And, if I am not mistaken, I think I already know who he is”

The people dispersed quickly, and with a satisfaction grin she proved her right: the blonde man who was jumping on the tree was no other than Thor, son of Odin, Prince of Asgard and Heir to the Throne. Everyone on Asgard knew who he was, but he had never been as close to her as in that moment, walking directly to the golden bench she was seated on. However, it wasn’t Thor who had caught Sigyn’s eye, but the dark haired young man who was walking beside him.

Prince Loki was known by all Asgardians as well. As the younger son, the right to rule was over his brother’s shoulders, not his. Maybe it was because Thor knew he was the next in line to the throne that he always got that arrogant attitude, while Loki was a much more quiet, observant man, surrounded by a mystery halo. Those characteristics drowned Sigyn irremediably attracted to him, and his good looks only contributed to make her infatuation stronger: while all the ladies in Asgard fought over Thor’s attention, Sigyn always thought Loki was actually much more interesting and handsome. Still, her love was only corresponded in dreams. Loki was a Prince, one of Odin’s sons, member of royalty while she was just another Asgardian woman.

Sigyn felt her cheeks turn red as Loki approached her, looking silently to the grass as Thor kept talking:

"You should have tried, brother. Show them what you are capable off!"

"Jumping on trees is not exactly what I am best at, Thor"

"Oh, well, then I suppose I won! Ja! I beat you again!"

"It was not a contest, Thor. I just asked you if you thought you could climb that tree. Nothing more than that"

"Well, I did it and I won. I am better than you at climbing trees as well", Thor’s wide satisfaction grin gave his face a funny expression.

"Stop showing off all the things you are better than me at"

Both brothers stopped in front of the bench, looking at the beautiful woman on it.

"Another thing I am better than you at is courting women", the older brother rested his strong arms on the bench, looking at Sigyn with a flirtful expression. "Asgard has many treasures on it, but none as beautiful as you, dear… ?"

"Sigyn. My name is Sigyn, Prince Thor", she bowed her head briefly. "It is an honor to meet you. And it is an honor to meet you too, Prince Loki"

The latest was about to return the greeting when Thor interrupted him:

"Have you been at the palace? I don’t remember seeing you there"

"No, not really, only on official events. I do not work for the Royal Family. I am just another Asgardian"

"What about your parents? Do they serve the palace?"

"Valtar and Magga, my parents. My father was one of the main generals of the King Odin. He died during battle and my mother died as well while giving birth to me" 

"Oh! I’ve heard stories about Valtar, the Brave! I’m sorry about your parents. Would you like to come to the palace someday?"

While Thor kept trying to woo her, Loki felt something strange inside him, maybe for the very first time in his life. Due to his position, he and his brother could choose practically from all women on Asgard to marry. Fulfilling his most carnal and primitive desires wasn’t a hard thing to do (even when almost all those willing ladies preferred to visit Thor’s chamber instead of his), and he had obtained physical pleasure everytime he had wanted. Despite that, Loki felt empty. He hadn’t found any deep connection with anyone, and even though Thor always told him those women were just to satisfy them, he had always wanted something else. Someone to talk with, to share time with. He had always felt like an stranger on Asgard (for some unknown reason beyond his comprehension) and that sentiment of loneliness couldn’t abandon him. His mother, Queen Frigga, suggested that maybe Loki needed a companion, a special woman he could spend his days with.

_“But I have not found that woman yet, mother -he replied-. How to recognize her? How to dare to confess my feelings if all Asgardian women fall over Thor’s feet?_

_-Do not worry about that, my dear Loki. When you meet the right one, you will know”_

Now, looking at this gorgeous creature in front of him, Loki knew that was the feeling his mother told him about. That tall, pale woman, with dark long hair, big turquoise eyes and red lips had took his breath away. A new and exciting feeling ran through his veins like fire. Maybe she was the one.

"Oh, my Prince, I am grateful for your invitation, but I assure you I have no interesting thing to do at the palace"

“ _And now this idiot is trying to seduce her_ -Loki thought with irritation-. _It would not surprise me if she falls in love with him like all the other women_ ”

"Are you sure? You can come everytime you want. A special guest from Prince Thor!"

"I greatly appreciate your offering, my Prince. But no. I don’t want to go. And now, I wish to continue with my lecture, if that does not offend you"  

Thor looked at her with confusion on his eyes. Practically all women who were approached by him fell instantly into his big, strong arms. What was wrong with her?

"I think this lovely lady doesn’t want your company, brother", said Loki with a sarcastic smile. "Leave her alone"

"As you wish". Thor walked away from the bench, his pride a little wounded. "Nice to meet you, lady Sigyn!"

She laughed softly. Loki stood there, honestly impressed, looking at maybe the first woman in all Asgard to refuse his brother, when she also looked at him and both stood there on silence for a few seconds, lost on each other’s gaze.

"I see you are interested on herbal medicine" he said, pointing at her book.

"Yes, yes, I am" her voice trembled a little.

"We have one of the finest examples of the subject at the Palace library. I can get it for you, if you want it"    

Her eyes opened wide.

"Oh, thank you, my Prince but… I do not want to get you in trouble"

"It’s not a problem. They have many copies of it. I can get you one. Let us meet again tonight, on this very place and I will give it to you"

She smiled and nodded, timidly.

 

"What were you talking about?", Thor asked his brother when he came back.

"Oh, nothing, brother. She was worried she may have offended you"

"Her loss. Not mine"

"As you say, brother. As you say"  

They walked back to the palace.

—————————————————-

Loki left the palace when the first stars appeared on the sky. His heart was beating fast and he felt more alive than ever. It was good to feel that way, and he was intensely curious about this beautiful woman. When he arrived to the place they first met at, she was already there. They greeted each other and then he gave her the valuable book.

"Oh, by Odin…", she gasped. "It’s beautiful. What an incredible gift"

"I’m glad you like it"

"Such a strange coincidence... today is my birthday"

"Oh, well, in that case you deserve something more… special"

Loki extended his hands to the lake and Sigyn watched in silence. Suddenly, silver figures appeared on the surface of the lake: big, beautiful flowers that floated graciously over the water, shining bright under the stars.

"Oh, Prince Loki… this is… beautiful" she was utterly moved, she never had seen something like that. "Do you know magic?"

"I do, yes. My mother taught me", he looked at her with bright eyes. There was something about this woman that made him felt like home. Maybe for the very first time.

She turned around to face him and when she saw herself reflected on his eyes she somehow knew she will always be faithful to him. Such intense feeling made her eyes a little bit teary.  

"I’m sorry", she said, "I’m just a little overwhelmed. I’ve never felt something like this before"

"I understand. I feel the same"

"I just met you today, Prince, but I have always looked at you every time I was at the palace"   

"Oh, really?", he hold her hand. "Please call me Loki. Just Loki"

Sigyn could not stop staring at him.

"May I do something else, lady Sigyn?"

She nodded. Then, very carefully, Loki took her face on his hands and gave her a sweet little kiss on her cheek.

"Joyous birthday, Sigyn"

The silver flowers ascended to the sky and then vanished on a delicate bright rain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A closer look on the dynamics between Odin, Thor and Loki and how that affected the young Prince.

**II**

Some time passed after Loki and Sigyn’s first encounter and now they were an “official” couple, enjoying their love all over Asgard. Seeing the pair together made Asgardians happy, even though they had felt confused Loki was the one with a lady friend instead of Thor, the most eligible Prince (and future King). Above all... it was Sigyn! One of the loveliest Asgardian women around. Anyway, the citizens greeted the couple with joy every time they walked holding hands through the many golden buildings, gardens and open spaces of Asgard.

Thor was a little sceptical at first that his pale, lean young brother would have captured that gorgeous woman’s heart, but he accepted it eventually and wished them luck. Frigga was very happy for her youngest son, developing a very close and special relationship with Sigyn, and Odin greeted her with a courteous smile every time she was at the palace.

Being now somehow part of the Royal Family wasn’t that important for Sigyn. Even though it was a destiny she would had never imagined, she was just happy to be with Loki. He was everything she needed: his intelligence, sarcastic humor, clever wit and personality made her fall in love with him even more with every single day that passed by. She was delighted every time he showed her a new magic ability, and was confident their happy days would never end.

And as for him, well, Loki was happier than ever. The constant jokes and superiority acts from his brother didn’t bother him as much as they had done before, and for the very first time in his life he felt more special than Thor: he had the true love and loyalty from a woman he adored and loved as well, and that was something his brother hadn’t found yet. Still, there were some lonely, cold nights on which Loki stood up on his bed and stayed awake until morning, feeling that sensation of not belonging, feeling he had been born for something much more greater than just being Asgard’s Prince. When those thoughts appeared, he would walk to the window and look at the stars, trying to understand where those feelings came from. His life was missing something and he didn’t know what it was.

He didn’t know until a month before Thor’s coronation as Asgard’s new King.

—————————————————-

The three men, Odin, Thor and Loki were sitting down on a big table from one of the Palace chambers. The King explained to them the importance of the ceremony of Thor’s coronation, but Loki wanted to know what was going to be his place after all of that.

"You will be the leader of the Asgardian army, brother" Thor said. "You will prepare my soldiers to conquer and defeat every single creature who defies Asgard"

"But…", Loki started, dubious, "I think you are more suitable for that job, brother"

"Well, then. I will command Asgardian forces, train them, and you could just watch from the palace and making sure our people has everything they need. Only if you want to do something during my reign"

"It’s not because I don’t want to do anything" the black haired Prince looked at Odin. "Father, with all the respect you and our ancestors deserve, I ask you to reconsider your decision of making Thor the King"

"And why is that?"

"Because he is extremely well trained and prepared to be an excellent leader of the Asgardian military forces, Father. With all respect, brother -he looked at Thor for a moment-, we all know very well you don’t like to listen to people’s needs and troubles. You don’t have the patience for that. You like to fight and to show your strength, and that is good, but a wise King needs more than muscles to rule the Nine Realms"

Thor left out a loud laugh.

"Oh, little brother… we all know you have been always jealous of me"

"Well, you have not helped me to not doing it" Loki turned to Odin again. "Father, please, reconsider your decision. I know Thor is your first born but I believe I am equally capable to rule Asgard and the Nine Realms. I can do it better, I dare to say"

"This argument is over", Odin said, firmly. "I do not want to hear anything more related to it. Thor is going to be King. It is his birthright as my first born. He has to learn a lot in order to become a wise and fair King, but he will do it with time. Loki, you are right, Thor will be a perfect commander for our military forces as well. I command you to be in charge of the Asgardian people instead, making sure their problems and demands are fulfilled.”

"But, Father… I…"

"Enough, Loki! The decision has been made, respect it. You will never, never be King"

Loki remained silent for the rest of the reunion, while Odin kept talking to Thor about all the responsibilities and rights he would have after his coronation. He was deeply hurt, and couldn’t believe Odin was so reluctant to admit Thor wasn’t clearly the best option to rule. His older brother had always been his father favorite (why, he did not know), and that just ignited more fire to his pain and his humiliation.

All of his life he had always been put aside, always under appreciated and underestimated. Thor, the Golden Boy, the Chosen One. He, the younger, quiet Prince who would never have the talent nor the ability to be King.    

The story of his life.

—————————————————-

He called Sigyn after the reunion with his father and brother and asked her to spend the night with him. He needed the comfort of her loving arms and she gave herself to him completely, like she had done so many times before. Sigyn knew there was a deep pain inside Loki caused greatly by his father and brother, and kept telling him how much she loved him, trying to make him feel better. Still, there was something she could not reach, something that made him miserable.

Later that night, while sleeping between Sigyn’s arms, Loki had a dream: both he and Thor were children again, and Odin took them to Asgard Chambers, were he kept all the treasures he and other Asgardian Kings had collected from the Universe through centuries. Odin told them the story of the Frost Giants, those hideous monsters that threatened Midgard’s peace and put in danger the whole Universe. Odin said they had made a peace agreement, and he took their power away and locked it on Asgard Chambers...

Loki woke up and sat on his bed, liberating himself from Sigyn’s embrace. He was sweating but had a wide wicked smile on his face.

"Loki…" Sigyn woke up, a little bit confused. "What happened? Did you have a nightmare?"

"No, no, my love. I am fine" he laid down again, holding her gently, and he fell asleep peacefully shortly after that.    

He now had a plan. Everything had to be carefully prepared and when Thor’s big day came, the first phase of his plan would take place. If everything went well, as a result he would have a new future with his beloved Sigyn next to him.

A bright, powerful, fair future.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is when this story matches the events in the first Thor movie. Consider these events as a "parallel story" that ran alongside what happened in the movie. A short chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw the first Thor movie again to accurately describe all the events. Some chapters are smaller than others, but its because I wanted to give events their proper length and importance.

**III**

"The entire city is here. This is a very special, memorable day" Eyja was really excited, Sigyn never had looked at her like that.

They were in the first row, looking breathless at the rich ornaments and luxury the palace was decorated with. The Throne Chamber was glowing in gold, red and golden drapes (the new King’s colors) were hanging down the pillars and among the crowd, the entire room buzzing with joy and excitement. All Asgardians, men, women and children were gathering there, ready to welcome their new King.

"Oh, look! He is there!" Eyja said, while the two women cheered and greeted their new King as he appeared among the crowd, lifting up the Mighty Hammer, Mjolnir, so they all could see it. Thor was happier than ever as he approached to the Throne, showing off his skills with the hammer and screaming with excitement.

Sigyn laughed and turned her turquoise eyes to Loki, who was standing almost in front of her, among Lady Sif (one of Asgard greatest warriors) and his mother. He looked truly radiant and magnificent on his royal attire, gold horned helmet included. Her smile disappeared as soon as she saw him, clenching his jaw while looking at his brother. She knew it was a difficult day for Loki, and she also knew he must likely be wanting to get over with it as soon as possible.

Thor finally reached the throne and Odin stood up, commanding silence with a hit of his golden scepter on the floor.

“Thor, Odinson, my heir, my first born…”

"Your loved one looks angry" Eyja told Sigyn. "Is he feeling well?"

"Yes… I think so" she responded, worried. "He will be fine after all of this ends"

Odin was about to proclame Thor as the new King when he went completely silent all of a sudden. The crowd left out some confused exclamations and Sigyn looked to Loki. He was smiling.

"Frost Giants!" Odin exclaimed, while the panic ran through the Asgardians like fire.

"What is happening?" Eyja said, frightened. "Sigyn, what do we do now?"

Odin hit the floor one more time with his golden scepter and commanded silence. He told the Asgardians to quietly return to their homes, and called his two sons to go with him. Loki crossed the room quickly to reunite with Sigyn and Eyja.

"Go, now. Don’t worry, everything is fine. I’ll see you later" he then ran to reach his brother and his father.

Eyja being old, moved slowly and Sigyn guided her patiently to the exit and then to their home. She waited for Loki, sure he will come after everything had passed, just as he promised.

—————————————————-

The night was slowly darkening the Asgardian sky. Sigyn had patiently waited all day, and when she was gathering the dirty plates they just had dinner on, a tall figure knocked on her door: Loki. Sigyn let him in, and they talked in the kitchen, alone.

"Where is Eyja?"

"She is taking a nap, I think she got very scared of thinking the Frost Giants were here"

"They were. But everything is fine now"

"What happened?"

"They broke into the Asgard Chambers, tried to steal some very valuable source of power"

"That is extremely dangerous!"

"It is. Fortunately, the Destroyer was there to kill them. There is no potential danger, you can tell Eyja we are safe"

She hugged him tight.

"I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. Please promise me you will be safe"

"Don’t worry, my love. I will be fine. Both of us, will be fine. You’ll see"

What Loki did not tell her was that after his visit to her, he had to get reunited with Thor and the other Asgardian main warriors: Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg. They were about to go on a secret (and potentially suicidal) mission to Jotunheim, home of the Frost Giants. Thor was mad about what happened that day, and he needed answers. Loki said goodbye to her with a kiss and promised Sigyn he will look for her the next day. There was no reason to worry her more.

 

About an hour later, Loki and the others were riding across the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge.

After that fatidical visit to Jotunheim, nothing would ever be the same: the Frost Giant King, Laufey, promised war and death to Odin, Fandral got injured, Thor was casted out from Asgard and Loki knew the truth about his origin.  

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor is banished, Loki is King. Sigyn goes to palace to confront him and she encounters the Warriors Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sif was really mad. If you watch the first Thor movie, you'll notice the exact timing in which the story could have happened.

**IV**

The news about Thor’s banishment spread quickly all over Asgard. Confusion, sadness and fear soon filled the minds and hearts of the citizens. It was almost impossible their new future King had done such a foolish thing, going to Jotunheim alone without Odin’s permission and now the threat of a war with the Frost Giants pended over their heads. Above all, Asgardians felt unprotected: Thor had been casted out to an unknown place and Odin, the Allfather, was in a deep sleep that no one knew if he was going to wake up from.

Sigyn and Eyja were sad and confused as well. Sigyn hadn’t known about Loki for three days in a row, and refused to go to palace and ask for him despite Eyja’s insistence. She knew maybe Loki would need her help going through such terrible times, but maybe it was the best for her to stay far from the palace until he asked for her presence. “You could at least try to speak with the Queen -Eyja would say to her-. She may have answers”.

Another whole day passed and finally on one quiet afternoon, some guards from the palace knocked Sigyn’s door: “Queen Frigga and King Loki want to see you”.

Sigyn’s heart missed a beat when she heard that.

King Loki.

—————————————————-

Sigyn entered the palace surrounded by the guards. Queen Frigga was already waiting for her and told the guards she would take Sigyn to the Throne Chamber. Both women held each other on a tender embrace.

"My Queen…" Sigyn said, letting go carefully and looking into her eyes. "What happened? What is this horrible faith that has laid upon the Asgardian sky?"

"A horrible faith, indeed" Frigga answered, while guiding her to the Chamber. "Thor was extremely angry after his coronation got interrupted and decided to attack the Frost Giants on his own"

"But how could he? He knew it was against Odin’s will"

"Someone must have given him the courage to do it. Thor went there with his warriors friends and Loki, as well"

"Loki? Was Loki there?"

"Yes, he was. He told me everything that happened. Odin punished Thor by casting him out to Midgard. I tried to speak with the King, making him reconsider his decision, but the night I was going to do so Loki told me he passed out before him on the Asgard Chambers"

"He passed out? What happened? What they were talking about?"

They had already arrived to the Throne Chamber and stopped in front of the door.

"Sigyn, everything has changed now. It was a King Odin’s order to let the Asgardian people know about the potential war against the Frost Giants. They need to be prepared. But now, the Allfather is sleeping, and I fear this time he won’t wake up. Thor being casted out, has made Loki taken the Throne as the King of Asgard. We need someone to take control until everything gets better. Now he wants to see you. I know Loki perfectly well and you are a big support for him. He truly loves you, Sigyn”

She nodded understandingly. Everything she needed now was to talk to Loki and making sure he was alright and ready to find Thor and fix this whole mess. They needed Thor on the Throne to win against the Frost Giants, or Asgard would be lost.

The Queen left to keep taking care of her sleeping husband, and Sigyn was about to enter the Chamber when the doors opened and Fandral, Sif, Volstagg and Hogun came out.

"Greetings, Warrio…"

"Your lover has gone MAD!", Lady Sif interrupted her and took Sigyn violently by the arm.

"Sif, please, let her go" Volstagg freed Sigyn from that hard grip.

"Is this some kind of joke you and Loki are playing so you can be the Queen?"

"Sif, I don’t know what are you talking about…"

"Of course you know! Thor was casted out, Odin is conveniently sleeping and now your lover is King of Asgard. What are you two playing at?"

Sigyn was visibly confused: "I assure you, Lady Sif, all of you… I don’t have anything to do with this. I didn’t even know you had gone to Jotunheim"

"What are you doing here, then?" Hogun asked.

"Loki called me"

"Well, you should tell him that a King should treat his people with more decency and respect" Fandral added. "He just dismissed us like if we were nothing"

"If we could only speak with the Queen…"

"I did" Sigyn said, "I just did. She was waiting for me"

"Oh really?" Sif approached her again with a killing look on her eyes. "Loki just told us she refuses to leave Odin’s side"

The four warriors looked at Sigyn with suspicion.

"Listen, I am going to speak to Loki and try to convince him to search out for Thor and bring him back", she said.

"We don’t even know where he was casted out to"

"Midgard" Sigyn confessed. "He is in Midgard. The Queen told me"

The warriors exchanged looks and left without saying anything more. Sigyn sighed deeply and proceeded to enter the Throne Chamber.

 

The Chamber was uncommonly cold and empty. Sigyn’s steps resonated loudly as she approached to the Throne. Loki was standing there, covered on his armor, a green cape hanging from his shoulders, wearing the golden horned helmet and Odin’s scepter. He opened his arms in a welcoming gesture and smiled as soon as she reached the stairs that leaded to the Throne.

"My love. Sigyn"

She stopped and got on one knee, presenting her respects to the new King.

"Oh, no, please…" Loki said, getting down the stairs. "You don’t have to do that"

"It is the way we are supposed to greet the King" she replied, standing up again. "And now, since you are the new King, I think I must follow that rule as well"

"My dear…" he caressed her cheek. "I am so happy to have you here"

"Oh really? I could have been here earlier but for some reason you didn’t called me before" she was angry, and she knew she was right to be like that. "Can you imagine how worried was I? I thought about coming to the palace but I decided to wait until you personally asked me to. I supposed you would be busy trying to restore a little peace to the realm and supporting your mother on this difficult times and maybe it was the best to leave you alone, but you could at least let me know you were fine!"

"I understand and I am sorry. I truly am. But don’t worry, I am fine, better than ever, actually. Everything will come out right now that I am King. The people are afraid but the war against the Frost Giants is not going to happen. I have a plan. I will give Asgard the King they truly deserve”.

"But, Loki… how can you be so calm after all the horrible events that have happened?"

"My father is currently unconscious but he will get better. And if he won’t, well… he can rest in peace, knowing I will rule wisely"

"And what about Thor?"

Loki left out an angry sigh and started climbing up the stairs towards the Throne again.

"Why do you even care about Thor?"

"Because he is your brother!"

"HE IS NOT…"

Loki stopped and closed his eyes. Would he be brave enough to tell Sigyn the truth? And not only about the deal he had made with the Frost Giants to invade Asgard and ruin his brother’s coronation, but about the thing he just had found out: that he was Laufeyson, a Frost Giant. A monster.  

He climbed up the remaining stairs and sit again on the Throne. What to do now? Not that he hadn’t thought about it before Sigyn came: he had decided to tell her everything. But now, looking at her, his will trembled.

What if she got scared? What if she rejected him, never wanting to see him again? Sigyn was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Her true love made him feel important and valuable, something he had never received from Odin or Thor. Frigga had loved Loki unconditionally and he loved her a lot as well, but it was a maternal love. Sigyn’s love was a passionate one instead, filled with the promise of a future together. He couldn’t afford to lose her because of his true nature. That was something she must never know.

"He is not what, Loki? What did you want to say?"

"He is not here. He is not here and I can’t change that"

"Oh, but you can! You can!" Sigyn climbed two steps and looked at him suppliantly. "Loki, we need Thor to come back and help us"

A true expression of pain crossed his face.

"Do you think I am not capable of ruling? Is that it?"

"No, Loki, please… you know Thor is the rightful King, Odin’s first born, he has to come back. I am not questioning your abilities, I agree Thor can be impulsive and reckless sometimes but he has to guide us as our King"

"No. Thor had his chance and he made a mistake. He does not deserve to be here"

"We need to be together on this difficult times! Thor has to come back!"

"I WON’T GIVE UP THE THRONE! It is also my birthright! I can do this BETTER THAN THOR!"

Sigyn remained silent. So that was it all about: keeping the Throne to himself, proving he was better than his brother. It was all that mattered to him.

She got down the stairs and started walking towards the door.

"SIGYN! Where are you going?"

She turned around and saw Loki had tears on his eyes.

"I am sorry, my King. But if the Throne is everything that matters to you, there is no place for me in here"

She left the Throne Chamber.

 

Loki remained silent for a while after Sigyn left.

He had failed. He lost her. Everything was lost. The only thing he could do now was going to Midgard, find Thor and offering that stupid fool the Throne so she could 

forgive him. Loki could not believe he was going to give up so easily but there was no other way…

Really? There was just no other way?

He smiled. He still had a plan. He could still make it work: if he appeared as the big hero at the end of it all, Sigyn would surely forgive him and finally understand his reasons to go through all that. If he failed, well… he could end up being dead.

“I don’t care. Being without her is like to be dead, anyway”

His plan had to go on until the last consequences.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn's POV of what happened at the end of the first Thor movie. Also, the events that happened after and how impacted her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Odin is a bag of dicks and I hate him.

**V**

Sigyn came back home to Eyja feeling terrible. She still had hope on Loki, though: maybe he will reconsider and finally decide to bring his brother back. It was a matter of time, she was sure.

 

The next day she focused on doing her normal chores, trying not to think about her argument with Loki. Eyja, knowing her perfectly, knew something bad had happened between her adoptive daughter and the new King, but was careful enough not to mention anything, avoiding Sigyn to suffer more.

That night, Sigyn sat on the balcony to read a little bit. She could see the Bifrost from there, and more far away, Heimdall’s rounded observatory. Sigyn sighed, hoping everything went out right in the end.

However, she got distracted from her lecture when she hear something, and looking at the Bifrost she saw the distinctive light that appeared on it every time someone from another realm used it to enter Asgard. It seems they had a visitor, but from that distance it was impossible to distinguish who it was and where it came from. She continued reading only to hear the same sound a few moments later, looking how the Bifrost glowed announcing another visitor.

“ _That’s unusual_ -she thought-. _Could it be Thor? Maybe Loki already rescued him_ ”

Suddenly, a little figure floated above the Bifrost and went flying directly to Asgard. Sigyn stood up, amazed. It was Thor, no doubt! He used to flight around like that using Mjolnir. It was something almost too incredible to be true. She decided to wait a little bit longer on the balcony, being alert to any other strange thing that could happen.

 

It wasn’t long until something else happened, indeed: Heimdall’s observatory started to spin very fast and from his golden spike a powerful destroyer ray was directed to somewhere in the Universe. It wasn’t normal. Something was wrong.  

A little explosion happened inside Heimdall’s observatory, throwing pieces of its structure through the air. Many Asgardians started to came out from their houses, looking at that direction, trying to understand what was going on. Eyja came out to the balcony and looked at her, but Sigyn’s eyes showed the same confusion that hers.  

Things continued to happen: now a strange ray of light had lighted up the farthest part from the Bifrost in which it seemed was another small explosion.   

"They’re Thor and Loki, fighting on the Bifrost!" screamed one of the Asgardians who was looking at it from his own balcony, helped by some type of telescope.

"Thor and Loki? Fighting?" Eyja took Sigyn’s arm gently.

"I don’t… I don’t understand…" -she said, confused.

"Heimdall’s observatory is spinning too fast!" continued screaming the Asgardian, "That destroyer ray is going to eliminate something very soon! Thor is… he is…"

"What? He is doing what? TELL US!" replied the neighbors.

"THOR IS DESTROYING THE BIFROST WITH MJOLNIR!"

The faces of the Asgardians showed confusion and fear. Had Thor gone completely mad?

A blinding light occurred, accompanied with a loud explosion. The Asgardian with the telescope focused on what was left of the Bifrost, telling his neighbors what he was seeing: "Heimdall’s observatory has been completely destroyed. Our King Odin is there, holding on something but I can’t see what"

They all waited holding their breaths. After some minutes, the Asgardian finally announced: "Odin and Thor are headed back to the city. Only the two of them"

Sigyn quickly left the balcony and entered the house, heading to the palace.

"Sigyn! Be careful please!" Eyja said before she left.

—————————————————-

She was running out of breath when she arrived to the palace doors. The guards told her to wait there until the Queen, the Prince or the King himself allowed her to enter.

"I want to see Loki. Please let me in! Tell the Royal Family I am here and I want to see Loki! Tell them!"

Sigyn grew more and more desperate with every second: a dark, cold feeling was slowly absorbing her soul. Something bad had happened, something horrible. She could feel it.

She was already crying when the guards let her in. They told her, however, that they must ask the Royal Family first if there was someone to receive her. A guard left and the other stayed with her. Some moments later, the guard returned accompanied by Queen Frigga.

"Leave us alone, please" she commanded.

"My Queen! What happened? Where is Loki? Is he alright?"

Frigga’s eyes became teary and that was the confirmation of Sigyn’s worst fears. She proceeded to patiently explain to Sigyn all the terrible events that had taken place that night: how Laufey entered Odin’s chamber to kill him, how Loki saved him, then the fight with Thor and how he had to destroy the Bifrost to prevent Loki wiping out Jotunheim.

“After Thor destroyed the Bifrost, Loki was hanging from it. Thor wanted to save him but he… he let himself go. Loki let himself fell into the open space”

It was like they had throw a bucket of cold water on Sigyn. Everything lost its color and its sound. She gasped for air because she wasn’t able to breathe. Loki, his precious Loki, was dead and she was absolutely shocked. Her legs failed to support her weight and she almost fell down on the floor, but Frigga held her close.

"Sigyn, oh, Sigyn, I am so sorry" Frigga kept telling her, crying. "I wish things would have been different. One of my sons came back but I lost the other. It is a pain no mother wants to feel, ever"

"I… I loved him…"

"I know, my dear. And he loved you as well"

There was nothing else to say, really. All was over. Things didn’t matter anymore.

 

Sigyn left the palace and returned home with her heart broken, the tears that had started running through her cheeks didn’t stop when she came back to Eyja, and with a broken voice Sigyn explained what the Queen had told her.

That night Eyja held her adoptive daughter close to her like when she was a little girl and had nightmares, but Sigyn kept moving and crying on her sleep, dreaming about Loki.

—————————————————-

The next morning, King Odin summoned the entire city to the palace. Sigyn was there wearing black from head to toe, accompanied by Eyja. Odin was sitting on the Throne, Thor to his right and Frigga to his left.

Odin’s voice resonated loudly when he spoke to his people:

"Asgardians! I’ve commanded you all to come here this morning, so I can tell you about the recent events. I fell into the Odinsleep recently, and when I woke up, my two sons were fighting against each other on the Bifrost. I saved one of them, as you can see, and now I believe you have the right to know the truth. The truth about Loki is that he was really the son of Laufey, King of the Frost Giants”

The Asgardians gasped loudly. How was that even possible? Sigyn felt that his legs failed again, but she made an effort to stand still and listening to what Odin had to say.

"I found him left to die alone as a baby when the battle in Jotunheim happened, so I brought him back to Asgard", Odin continued. "He was an innocent creature and did not deserve to die. I also thought Loki would serve as a peace offering between the two realms, allowing Laufey to abandon all plans of attack us in the future by knowing his own blood was here. Loki grew up as a prince and was treated as such. However, his ambition grew stronger every day and he looked at Thor with resentment and jealousy as his day to be crowned King approached. Loki made an elaborate plan to prevent that from happening, and then he betrayed us, the Asgardians, by letting the Frost Giants in here. When I woke up from my dream and reached the Bifrost, Thor had already destroyed it, because Loki’s plan was to eliminate Jotunheim.

“At the end, Loki killed himself, letting go from the Bifrost and disappearing into the space. Heimdall has confirmed me there are no signs of his presence in the Universe. Even though Loki saved me from being killed by Laufey, his actions won’t be forgiven. He was a traitor to the Realm, a danger to the Throne, and a shame to the Royal Family”.

Sigyn could not believe her ears. There he was, the Allfather, publicly expressing his rejection to the man she loved and the one Odin himself called _son_ for so long. If Loki grew being jealous of Thor, Odin was responsible in great part of it: always comparing his two sons and making them competing against each other. She was furious.

"Loki won’t be named again in Asgard. He paid the price for his crimes" Odin looked at the crowd, searching for someone. Surprisingly, his blue eye laid upon Sigyn, and looked intensely at her. "What Loki did was treason, and if there is someone here who knew him and may have known about his plans and deep dark ambitions, that is you, Sigyn"

All Asgardians turned to look at her and they even stepped aside, like if Odin just had said she had a contagious sickness. Eyja was the only one who stood right next to her. Frigga was visibly altered, looking from Odin to Sigyn alternatively. It was clear she didn’t know Odin would say something like that.

Thor took a step forward and was about to say something when the Allfather spoke again:

"My son and my wife have an enormous esteem for you, Sigyn. That is why I am not going to judge you for treason complicity. Nevertheless, you can not stay here"  

She looked at him, outraged.

"I, Odin, King of Asgard, expel you from this city. You will stay on this realm but are no longer welcome at the palace nor at any building on Asgard"

"Father, please, don’t" Thor finally spoke. "She didn’t do anything"

"Go, Sigyn" Odin said, ignoring his son. "You can go now"

“NO!” cried Eyja, holding her. Sigyn let go before murmuring to her ear _“I will be in the mountains, next to the big waterfall. Remember the cave I used to play in when I was a child? You can always come and visit me”_

Some Asgardians had to separate Eyja from her, because the old lady kept screaming and crying. Sigyn didn’t look back, she walked firmly to the doors, exit the palace and went back home. There she packed up only the necessary and headed to the cave in the mountains.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn's life now that she was casted out from Asgard. Thor visits her.  
> End of PART I.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to truthfully reflect the evolution Thor's character have had along the movies and how his relationship with Sigyn changed as well.

**VI**

_"This place is breathtaking" Loki said, looking admiringly at his surroundings. On his right was one the most beautiful waterfalls in Asgard, leading to a quiet lake. On his left there was a cave that had bright and gorgeous flowers on the entrance. It was a very romantic place, the sound of the water falling down gave it a peaceful vibe, and the soft grass they were sitting on had little dew drops._

_"I am glad you like it" Sigyn smiled. "Eyja showed me this place, she used to take me here when I was a little child, and I fell in love with it immediately. It is my secret, private place"_

_He placed a soft kiss on her hand._

_"Now it’s our secret, private place"_

_She came closer to kiss him on the lips, but he stood up quickly._

_"Loki, what are you doing?"_

_"Stand up, I want to show you something I’ve been working on. Come"_

_His inviting grin made her to stand up. She waited, feeling very curious. Suddenly, other Loki magically appeared on her right side. Then another on her left side, then another behind her, and so on until she got surrounded by ten identical Lokis, all watching her and smiling mischievously._

_"Loki, what is this?"_

_"A new magic trick I have been practising. It is useful to escape from enemies and confuse them" one of the Lokis replied, while they all started to walk in circles around her._

_"I am not your enemy"_

_"Oh, I know that. Don’t worry" another Loki said. "Try to guess who is the real me. Come on"_

_All of them stopped and laughed in unison. She was intrigued and amused at this new trick. Slowly, she got closer to them, examining them carefully. After a few more steps, she stopped in front one of them and smiled._

_"Are you sure this is the real me?" he teased. "Maybe I am just an illusion, you have to be careful"_

_"I know you, Loki" she got closer. "I know this is the real you"_

_She kissed him tenderly. When she opened her eyes, all the other Lokis were gone._

_"You won, my love" he said, holding her close and kissing her again. "You won"_

 

Sigyn opened her eyes. She was dreaming with the first time she took Loki to that place, a long time ago.

A couple of months have passed since Odin casted her out from the Asgardian golden city, and now she was getting used to live on her own in that cave on the mountains. At first she was not sure about going there because she had many memories of Loki in that place, but she also knew she had nowhere else to go. At least there she could get food and water, and the cave protected her from the cold and the rain.

Loki’s absence was a sharp knife that cut her soul constantly, and there wasn’t a day that went by without her missing him more and more. Eyja visited her every day at first, but Sigyn knew the travel to get there was a difficult and long one for an old person. She convinced her adoptive mother to visit her two times per week instead, and Eyja accepted not with little resistance.

     

Later that day, Sigyn was outside the cave preparing a herbal remedy to give to Eyja next time she would come ( _“my legs do not work as they used to do, my child”_ she had told Sigyn).

"This will ease your pain, Eyja…" she was working dutifully on smashing the plants on a little bowl, when she heard the sound of something coming her way. She stopped, paying attention to every little movement she noticed on the bushes and trees around her. Suddenly, someone came out the forest: Thor himself.

"Greetings, Lady Sigyn" he made a little bow with his head.

"Thor" she reciprocated the bow, "or may I say… King Thor?"

He smiled sadly: "No, not King. Not yet. I still have a lot to learn"

"Really? Well, that’s a surprise. Where’s the arrogant blonde Prince I used to know?"

"Being on Midgard taught me a lot of things. I am not that Prince anymore"

She smiled. It was true, something has changed in Thor. Still, she didn’t know what he was doing there and why. She stood up, leaving the bowl on the grass, and invited him to enter the cave.

"So this is where you live now" Thor looked curiously to the cave’s interior: there was a bed made with leaves and branches, some rests of a little bonfire on the rock floor and many recipients and bowls with food and plants inside them (brought to her by Eyja, no doubt). It was a small, cozy cave, and it was so much better than being unprotected on the outside.

"Yes, it is. It’s not as luxurious as the Asgard city but it’s all I need"

"How did you know about this place?"

"Eyja used to take me here when I was a child. I thought about coming here because it was a peaceful, secret place I could hide in. Or at least it was before you came. How did you know I was here and what do you want?”

If Thor had changed, surely Sigyn had changed as well. He looked at the Asgardian woman as if it was the first time he met her. Standing there in front of him with her arms crossed and a cold, fierce gaze, she wasn’t the Sigyn he used to know.

"I asked Heimdall for his help. He told me where to find you. I wanted to come before, but after I destroyed the Bifrost I had to help my Father plan something to ensure Asgard would continue being a safe place"

"Oh, I see…" she uncrossed her arms and walked towards the bed, where she sat on. "And what do you want?"

"I promised Mother I would make sure you are alright. After my Father casted you out the city, we were deeply worried. I also want to assure you that both me and my mother didn’t agree with my Father’s decision. We didn’t know he was going to cast you out and we tried to make him change his mind but he didn’t allow it”

She remained silent for a while, her eyes fixed on the hard rock floor. A few moments later, she looked at him again:

"I had been thinking about killing Odin, to be honest"

"Sigyn…" Thor walked slowly towards her. "You are not a murderer..."

"But then I decided not to. Not because I have any esteem left for him but because killing him won’t bring Loki back to me. Simple as that. And to be honest, I don’t want anything to do with the palace anymore, or with Odin. If he doesn’t want me to be in the city, then be it. Loki is not there, so there’s nothing left for me on it”.

Thor stopped and hesitated a little bit before telling her an undeniable truth: "Loki lied to you, Sigyn. He lied to all of us"

"He was lied to in the first place!" she stood up, angrily. "Odin lied to him about his true origin and made him believe he was something else to finally break all his illusions and hopes to be a worthy son!"  

"I agree my Father’s actions hurt him. But he had his reasons"

"I could not understand at first why Loki didn’t tell me about his true origin, but I understand him now. Maybe he was afraid I would reject him, maybe he thought I would be horrified by realizing he was a Frost Giant. But, to be honest, I would have loved him in any form. I feel in love with Loki because I saw his true self, and I am not talking about his race, but about his personality, his wit, his intelligence. He was a truly beautiful creature who suffered too much, he only wanted to prove himself before your Father. The only thing he ever wanted was to be your equal”

"You are right. He said the same thing to me before he…" Thor’s voice broke and he cleared his throat. "Listen, Sigyn. I love my brother. Even after he attacked me, after he lied to me, after all his schemes and tricks to sit on the Throne… I still love him. If you are in pain, I assure you I am grieving his loss as well. I know you are innocent and did not know anything about his plan. Mother knows it as well. You are a victim of his actions, too. It was not your fault to have loved him as much as you did.

"For that same reason" he continued, "I only came here to assure you that as long as you live, my protection and my Mother’s affection will be always on your side. There will come the day you will return to the city as an innocent Asgardian, I promise you”.

Thor left the cave.


	8. PART II (between Thor & The Avengers)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PART II of my fic.  
> Sigyn receives a visit from the Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very small, but it works as a little prelude to the events in the Avengers movie and how Sigyn had to deal with it.

**I**

 Sigyn had been living in that cave for 8 months now. She had promised herself not to waver, not to despair. That was her new life now, she had to endure it. Sometimes she would dream about the happy days when Loki was with her, but she had come to accept he was never going to be back, and his memory was now a precious (and slightly painful) gem on her heart.  

Thor’s visit had been half a year ago, and she hadn’t received any other strange visitor besides Eyja, who kept her up to date with Asgard’s news and brought her food, some covers for the winter and books.

One day, however, things changed.

 

Sigyn was collecting some water from the lake and when she turned around, she saw Queen Frigga standing right in front of her. The surprise made her jump and throw away the bowl with water.

"I am sorry, Sigyn. It wasn’t my intention to scare you like that"

"My Queen! I… don’t worry. I am fine" she picked up the bowl. "So good to see you"

"I deeply regret not talked to you before. I was waiting for things to get better"

"You don’t owe me any explanations, my Queen"

"I sent Thor to you a while ago. To see if you were alright"

"Oh, yes. He came here. My Queen, what are you doing here?, if I may ask”.

"Well… I am not really here, Sigyn"

She walked towards her and tried to hold her hand, but Frigga’s hand evaporated on a green illusion when she touched Sigyn.

"Loki knew how to do that…"

"And who do you think taught him to do so?" Frigga smiled. Sigyn felt so much better in her company, she had to admit it. "Things are so much calmer at the palace, now. Odin is busy trying to restore Heimdall’s observatory, and Thor is helping him. We will remain being apart from the other realms until they do"

"I am sure the King has thought about something else to keep an eye on other realms"

"Yes he has. Still, we fear new enemies arise soon"

The two women walked back to Sigyn’s cave.

"I have good news to share to you: I have spoken recently to Odin about your innocence on Loki’s plans to get the Throne and he has finally accepted to let you come back to the city"

"Is it true? May I come back?"

"Yes my dear! Asgard will welcome you with open arms"

So that was it. The time had come.

—————————————————-

_"Is that Sigyn?"_

_"Oh… it seems so"_

_"Hey! Look! Sigyn is back!"_

The Asgardians looked at her and spreaded the news, surprised. Sigyn, who had been casted out by the King himself supposedly after helping Loki on his mischievous plans, was now coming back home. She was a little bit reluctant of coming back, knowing she would still be under Odin’s reign, but she also knew how much Eyja needed her.

One afternoon she crossed paths with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. They greeted her with a sad look on their eyes, and Sif even apologized to her for being suspicious and rude that time they encountered each other at the Palace. “ _I disapprove everything Loki did_ -she said-, _but you loved him. I am sorry for your loss”._ Sigyn accepted the apology and she wished them well. They were more Thor’s friends than Loki’s, but still, they knew very well how much Sigyn was suffering.

Still, there were some Asgardians that looked at her with suspicion and whispered behind her back. For them, falling in love with a monster such as a Frost Giant was a complete aberration. She didn’t care though, she was decided to live the rest of her existence by being completely devoted to the man she once loved more than anything, refusing any of Eyja’s suggestions she should find another man to be happy with: _“Loki was mine and I will always be his_ -Sigyn said to her-. _I am not interested on falling in love with anyone else”._

Little by little, she returned to her old life and she even had some months of peace.

Until the Queen visited her again.


	9. (During THE AVENGERS)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn knows Loki is alive and causing mayhem on Midgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, a very brief chapter, but I had to explain how she knew Loki was alive. How would she react to such news? What would she do? Who would be the one to tell her?  
> I answer all those questions here.
> 
> ALSO: thank you A LOT for reading, the kudos and the comments <3 Part III is gonna be interesting, I'm finishing it right now!

**II**

Sigyn was so satisfied. So, so satisfied. She had just made a new herbal potion to repair small damaged areas and tested it on a wounded bird which got healthy again after a couple of hours. Eyja had just come back home from shopping some groceries, and as soon as she crossed the door Sigyn showed her the results of a whole month of hard work.

"I am very proud of you, Sigyn"

"It is an incredible thing! It only repairs small wounded areas and it’s not effective on severe damage, but it works!" she said while caressing the little bird. She was smiling, probably the first real smile she had after Loki’s death.

There was a strange sound on the balcony.

"Did you hear that?" Sigyn asked, still holding the bird on her hands.

"Yes… let’s go outside"

When both women came out to the balcony, Queen Frigga was standing there. Sigyn let go of the bird and it flew high up in the sky until got lost of sight.

"Queen Frigga" Eyja said, "such an honor to have you here"

"Greetings, Eyja. I am not actually here, it’s only an illusion. But it works and it’s faster" she said with a smile. "Sigyn, I wanted to talk to you about something really important that just happened"

"Should I go?" the old lady asked.

"No, Eyja, please stay. You should hear it as well. As you may know, the Bifrost is still being repaired. Nevertheless, Heimdall continues to serve us as the vigilant eye we need to be sure all the realms are in peace. He called King Odin urgently this morning because he saw someone on Midgard. Someone who should not have been there”.

"Who, my Queen?" Eyja asked.

Sigyn’s heart skipped a beat, anticipating the answer. Could it be possible that…?

Queen Frigga took a deep breath: "Loki. Heimdall saw Loki on Midgard"

Sigyn held her adoptive mother’s arm, afraid of passing out. That was impossible, it was a mistake, Loki was dead.

"Is… is Heimdall sure it was Loki?"

"Yes, Eyja, he is sure" Frigga looked at Sigyn, worried. She knew such news were almost impossible to believe, but they were true.

"What… what is Loki doing on Midgard?" Sigyn finally asked with a shaky voice, still holding Eyja’s arm.

"That is the worst part, I am afraid…" the Queen looked deeply sad. "The King did not tell me much about it but Loki is causing chaos. He is killing mortals and trying to escape with a very valuable treasure. I could not believe this at first. I am surprised and worried. Maybe Loki is being used, maybe someone is manipulating him… I don’t know. Odin has sent Thor to Midgard using another source of power. He was commanded to get Loki back to Asgard and stop him from killing more mortals”.

Sigyn had to sit on the balcony bench and covered her eyes with her hands. That was just too much to process. Contradictory feelings crowded her soul: on one hand, she was happier than ever to know Loki wasn’t dead but on the other, the thought of him being completely mad, killing mortals, was horrible. She didn’t know what to do.

"Sigyn…" Frigga said, before disappearing, "I promise you I will let you know as soon as Thor comes back to Asgard with Loki. I will keep you informed"

She couldn’t even said goodbye to the Queen or thank her, it was like she was paralyzed on that bench.

Loki was alive and Thor was taking him back to Asgard. What unspeakable things should have happened to him the entire year he was lost in space?, what if someone was indeed controlling Loki, forcing him to kill mortals?, what was that valuable treasure he wanted to get away with?

A million questions tormented her but the only thing she could do was to wait.


	10. PART III (During Thor, The Dark World)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki comes back to Asgard as a prisoner after being defeated by The Avengers on Earth.  
> Sigyn reunites with him after a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I recommend you to watch the opening of Thor the Dark World again before (or after) reading this chapter, when Loki speaks with Odin. I inserted a little plot twist about that scene that I hope you like ;)

**I**

News arrived the next day.

Sigyn almost couldn’t sleep the night before, dreaming about a destroyed Midgard and Loki laughing at the burning planet. When she woke up, she was still feeling anxious and refused Eyja’s invitation of accompanying her to the market: Sigyn had decided not to abandon the house until she received more news from the Queen.

Some moments after Eyja left, Sigyn heard something on the balcony. She quickly went out to investigate and there it was the magical illusion of Frigga, urging her to go to the Palace: “ _There is a secret entrance in the front gardens I will open for you. You will recognize it for its green light. It’s very important that no one sees you, so be careful”._

She did as the Queen said, leaving a note for Eyja so she didn’t worry.

Covering herself on a dark robe that hid her face and her purple dress, she arrived to the Palace. Then, making sure no one was observing her, sneaked to the gardens and found the green glow the Queen told her about: it was a secret door at the ground’s level, she opened it carefully and got inside.

It was very dark there and she realized she was walking through some kind of underground corridors. A faint light glowed in the distance, so she walked towards it.

That light came from the end of the corridor, leading to a big library. When Sigyn came out from it, Queen Frigga was already waiting for her. Both women hugged briefly and then the Queen took Sigyn quickly to another room, very alert that there were no guards on sight who could discover them.

"Did someone see you coming here?" Frigga asked, closing the door with a key.

"No, my Queen. I was careful not to be seen"

"Well done. I have news for you: Heimdall told King Odin and me that Thor is coming back home with Loki"

"Oh! My soul rejoices with the news!", Sigyn’s eyes got teary with excitement. "Did Thor convince Loki to come back?"

"Well… not exactly, I’m afraid" ,Frigga seemed deeply sad, "Thor defeated and captured Loki. He’s coming back to Asgard as a prisoner"  

Sigyn closed her eyes. Loki had done something really bad, after all. She sighed deeply and looked at the Queen.

"Is Midgard safe? Did Loki destroy it?"

"Thor got some mortal help to defeat him. Fortunately, Midgard is now safe and the source of power Loki was using was taken away from him. He is going to be judged before Odin as a war criminal, a traitor and a killer, almost causing the destruction of two Realms, and as an enemy of Asgard"

The young woman went pale.

"But… my Queen… for those crimes he will likely be executed"

"I have begged the King not to do so. I only can hope for him to listen… Now, Sigyn, this is crucial: Odin has forbidden anyone to enter the Palace before Loki’s arrival, that’s why nobody should know you’re here.

Loki was and will always be my son, despite his actions. He has suffered a lot and I love him. I can still see the good inside him. I know you can see that too.You fell in love with each other, I know you are a good woman and made him happy. And since I will always support and protect the happiness of my two boys, I am offering you an opportunity to see Loki before his punishment, but we should be very careful”.

"Oh my Queen, I am very grateful! I truly appreciate that, thank you so much!" her face lighted up. "Should I hide inside the Throne Chamber?"

"No, that would be very dangerous. It will be filled with guards and Odin may notice your presence"

"So what should we do?"

"Use magic. I’m gonna cast a powerful illusion on you so you adopt my form. You will look, talk and speak exactly like me, but still being yourself. Odin is already waiting for Loki, so you must get outside this room and into the Throne Chamber. Act as I would do, greet with a soft head bow the guards and the King himself. Stand up in front of the stairs that lead to the Throne and stand still. Maybe you can even say some words to Loki before Odin dictates his punishment, but always remember, you are impersonating me. Talk to him as a mother should do, not a lover.

After the sentence is announced, leave the Chamber and return here. Do it naturally, without a rush. If someone speaks to you, give a short and polite answer so they don’t suspect. But most of all, be careful from Odin. This is a formidable illusion but the Allfather is wise enough to suspect you are not me”.

Sigyn listened attentively. Even though the perspective of being in front of her loved one after thinking he had died was enough to make her tremble, she was gonna stick to the plan, pretending she was Frigga without raising suspicions.

"I will do as you told me, my Queen. Thank you for this opportunity"

Frigga smiled and then closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Sigyn noticed how a green halo covered her from head to toe and almost immediately her external appearance changed: she looked exactly like the Queen now.

"Go, Sigyn, go", she urged her. "Remember everything I told you"

She went quickly to the door and exit the room. Her steps resonated loudly on the empty corridors. She encountered some guards and politely greeted them before finally entering the Throne Chamber.

Odin was already sitting on the Throne, and there were some guards inside as well. She was careful not to look directly at the King, and positioned herself just as the Queen had told her to. Sigyn was waiting to see Thor there as well but the blonde Prince was nowhere in sight.

"Is he coming?" Odin suddenly asked.

"Yes, my King", a guard answered. "He’s about to enter the room"

Sigyn’s heart was beating very fast. She almost had a panic attack, afraid of the illusion to dissipate, revealing her true form.

“ _Control yourself, Sigyn_ -she thought-. _Please control yourself_ ”

A sound of chains was getting closer.

It was him.

“ _Here he comes, here he comes_ ” Sigyn interlaced her fingers and squeezed them together, like she did every time she got nervous, completely unaware of it.

And then, he appeared.

 

It was truly a sight to behold: there he was, Loki himself. His hands, hips and feet chained, being taken to the Throne by six guards. He walked firmly, looking directly at Odin. When Sigyn saw him she knew Loki had changed: his hair was longer than usual, his clothes different, and most importantly, the soft expression that his face showed everytime she was with him was gone. Instead, a firm and intense glaze had taken over his eyes, and his face reflected an expression of both defiance and pride.

When he reached to the stairs, Sigyn couldn’t help greeting him.

"Loki…"

He turned to her, seemingly amused.

"Hello mother. Have I made you proud?"

She was afraid that somehow he could see behind the illusion but apparently, he didn’t noticed.

"Please, don’t make this worse" she said.

"Define worse"

"Enough!", Odin commanded. "I will speak to the prisoner alone"

Sigyn walked away from Loki and exit the Chamber. Still, she managed to hide behind a door and hear the rest of the conversation.

She had seen him. Her loved one was alive! Even better than seeing him, she actually talked to him. It was something unbelievable to happen after the recent events, and it had all been thanks to Frigga. But now, the worst part was coming: his punishment.

Loki sounded delighted with all of that. Clearly, he wasn’t afraid of Odin. He said he had gone to Midgard to rule them “as a benevolent God”, but the King was having none of that.

"YOUR BIRTHRIGHT WAS TO DIE!", Odin shouted. "As a child, cast out onto a frozen rock"

Oh, how much Sigyn hated Odin. Loki didn’t need to go through that. Yes, he had made something horrible but the Allfather was never going to admit his own guilt on Loki’s actions.

Her heart missed out a beat when she heard his response to Odin’s provocations: “ _If I’m for the axe then for mercy’s sake, just swing it_ ”

"No…", she murmured, afraid Odin would agree to that.

"Frigga is the only reason you’re still alive and you will never see her again", the King said. "You’ll spend the rest of your days in the dungeons"

Oh! How wonderful!, how incredible! Those words were like a blessing. Loki wasn’t going to die. Odin had listened to Frigga and she had saved him. Still, being locked in the dungeons for thousands of years wasn’t something good, but at least he would be alive.

Loki asked about Thor, of course, and Odin simply told him he was going to bring peace to the Realms and then becoming King. After that, there was the sound of chains again and steps walking away. Then, the silence.

Sigyn waited there for a little moment, and then she ran to another room.

Frigga had told her to return immediately, but she couldn’t do that.

She had to see Loki at least one last time.

  


Being at the palace many occasions on the past, Sigyn had good memory of its corridors, rooms and stairs. To get to the dungeons, one should cross a big corridor with a black metal door at the back. The normal way to get there was taking the main stairs, but there was another way: by going through some small rooms and finally arriving to the corridor.

Sigyn got through those rooms in a hurry. She had to make sure there were no guards around, but fortunately, no one was following her. And even if they found her, why would she be afraid? It seemed logical that a mother would want to see her son one last time before he was locked in a dungeon for life. Despite this reasoning, she was afraid of being caught so when she finally arrived to the corridor she let out a sigh of relief. Yes, she was tired, but the sound of chains was still weak, so she had got there before the guards.

The sound of steps and chains increased gradually, until she finally saw them approaching to the corridor. Loki was looking at the floor, and just when she thought she would have to say something to get his attention, he raised his head and fixed his eyes on her.

They were coming closer. Sigyn wanted to say something meaningful to Loki, something that made him realise she was there, some comfort, warm and passionate words to help him endure that punishment. But she couldn’t, she was Frigga, not Sigyn, and in that moment she couldn’t think of anything a mother could say to a son that’s being taken to a horrible destiny.

Well, maybe she knew exactly what to say.

"Loki…", she said, just when he was passing by her side. "I love you"

He stopped. Loki waited for a couple of seconds, like if he was processing that words and then turned around very slowly to face her. The guards also stopped, maybe because they wanted to give their Queen just that brief moment with her son before taking him to the dungeons.  

Loki had his eyes fixed on the floor again. He was going to say something but when he looked at her face (his mother’s face, in appearance) he went completely silent.

Sigyn got nervous again. Something had happened.

Her lover was looking at her with a different expression now, there was confusion on his eyes, but suddenly his face changed again and a slight satisfaction smile appeared on his lips.

The guards decided it was enough and started walking again towards the black metal door that leaded to the dungeons. Loki was taken by them, without saying a single word.

  


"Sigyn! Finally! I was starting to get worried" Queen Frigga greeted her with relief on her face. "Where were you?"

"I’m sorry, my Queen. I had to see him one last time…"

"One last time?", Frigga took her by the shoulders. "You mean… he’s dead?"

"Oh, no. None of that, don’t worry. He will live"

The Queen sighed, relieved. Then she proceed to make the spell disappear and Sigyn recovered her normal appearance again.

"Leave by the same path you took to get here, be careful no one sees you" Frigga said.

"I am incredibly thankful with you, my Queen. Thanks to you I could see Loki again"

"No problem, my child. Did you talk to him?"

"Yes… well, just a little. Odin asked to talk to him in private. Still, I managed to hear his sentence, he’s…"

"Don’t. Don’t say anything to me. If the King commanded to speak with him privately, Odin will tell me about his decision later. The only thing I wanted to know was if he was going to live and you already told me he will"

"I understand. Yes, he will"

Sigyn hugged the Queen again. She was incredibly grateful. No matter how short, that encounter with Loki was the best thing that had happened to her in a long time.

The last words Frigga told her before she left the Palace still resonated on her ears when she got to the streets:

_“If Loki is alive, there’s always hope you two could be together again. I’m going to help you”_


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lokis POV about being locked up in the dungeons of Asgard.  
> He remembers how he met Thanos and the deal they made. Also, he explains why he lost against The Avengers.  
> WARNING: Some description of torture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I've always imagined how would the first encounter of Loki and Thanos had been and how many tortures Loki should have had to endure. Why did they make a deal?, What was the thing that motivated Loki to do so?  
> Also, I don't know about you but I have a deep feeling he lost on purpose to the Avengers. Why? Well, I explain it here.

**II**

Loki was having a nightmare again. The same one that attacked his dreams almost every night.

He was in that dark, desolate world, hearing the threats of The Other: “ _If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain."_

After that he always woke up sweating, momentaneously lost and disoriented. This time hadn’t been the exception, and very carefully he sit on the bed, inhaled deeply and made sure he was on that prison cell he knew so well.

 

Some months have passed since Odin, Father of All but him, had locked him up on those dungeons.

He had come to know that cell like the back of his hand: it was a not very large rectangle of impressive whiteness, with two huge windows that showed the rest of the cells, covered by a powerful and deadly golden energy. Any creature that dared to get through them, would surely die burned alive at the contact with that energy. Loki knew that he had a superior resistance, and of course he had thought of escaping, but he didn’t: the energy would not kill him but surely leave him in a deplorable condition, too weakened to complete the escape through the dungeons.

Although his cell was exactly the same as the others, it had undergone some modifications: a couple of guards had come in to leave some pieces of furniture. The bed where he was sitting at that precise moment, for example, had been brought only two days after his arrival. Two tables and a chair with his stool completed the furniture. Surely to make his staying more pleasant.

Loki hated that damn prison, no matter how much they adorned it or the comforts that could have. The prospect of being locked in there for the rest of his life was frustrating. Boring. Stupid. Unfair.

In one occasion, when his food was brought to him, out of sheer desperation he wanted to bury a silver knife right in his heart. He smiled sadly when the empty plates and cutlery were removed. Of course he was not going to do it. He had not survived the tortures of Thanos to end up committing suicide in that damn prison.

"Thanos ..." he whispered, very low. Barely a sigh in the silence of his cell.

 

He remembered absolutely everything when he fell into the hands of the Crazy Titan. How he reached to the Sanctuary (Thanos’ domain) feeling alone, lost and weak. How The Other (a Thanos’ servant) brought him through magic to his original Frost Giant appearance. Loki thought he would kill him, but Thanos' plans were different, so he locked him up and tortured him for a long time.

"Fire", Loki said softly, not repressing a chill. "The fire came first"

How do you torture a Frost Giant? You have to use heat. The fire with which Thanos commanded The Other to torment Loki was special: it didn’t burn his skin because it was not designed to burn, but to _dry_. It was as if they had removed all the water from Loki’s body, all its vitality. At the end of each “session”, Loki was dehydrated, semi-conscious, his blue skin turned gray and dry like a leaf about to break. It was very difficult for him to breathe again, many times he thought that he would die suffocated.

And yet, Loki resisted. He knew that if Thanos wanted to kill him he would have done it since he found him. He was just preparing him, _training_ him for something much bigger. So he resisted.  
One day, The Other suspended the fire torture. What followed was a private audience with the Titan himself:

"I’ve exposed to unspeakable horrors many lost creatures like you, Frost Giant", Thanos told him. "Most of them begged me to personally kill them after some time. But not you. You resisted. You’re hard to break down. That’s why I am trusting you the very important quest of recovering the Tesseract for me and bring it back"

"The Tesseract?", Loki asked. "What’s that?"

Thanos proceeded to explain the entire power of it.

“We can come to an agreement, Frost Giant" he offered. "Go to Midgard, bring me the Tesseract and I will reward you. There’s a flame inside you, I can see it. You didn’t gave up no matter the tortures you were exposed to. What’s that fuel that ignites your desire to live?”

Loki wanted vengeance. Odin, Thor, the absolute failure of his plan. There was no going back: Loki wanted the respect and adoration that he had craved for without success all his life. He told Thanos about it.

"In that case", he replied, "I will destroy Asgard for you if you bring me the Tesseract"

As attractive as that offering might seem, Loki couldn’t allow it. Sigyn and Frigga were in Asgard and he would not let the two women he loved the most get killed by Thanos.

"That’s not exactly what I want...", Loki knew he would have to use his entire charm to convince the Titan. "I have another thing on mind, if you let me explain"

"Speak"

"Instead of destroying Asgard, I want to rule Midgard. Give me an army to invade it and when the entire planet falls at my feet, you will have the Tesseract"

The Mad Titan laughed: "Your ambitions are little, but if that’s what you want, I will give you an army to conquer it and get the Tesseract for me"

Midgard. It was a perfect plan. Oh, how much Thor would suffer after his precious Earth got invaded.

Loki smiled and that’s how he sealed his alliance with Thanos.

  


Loki layed down on his bed again. He had just remember his words with Thanos and couldn’t do anything else but smile.

After his deal with the Titan, Loki immediately planned to betray him. How fool of Thanos to explain him the immense power the Tesseract had.

Ruling Midgard? Loki wasn’t interested on Midgard at all, it was just to piss Thor off. Loki despised humans, considered them stupid creatures beneath him. Why would he have wanted to rule them? Asgard. Asgard was the real objective.

He could get back to Asgard using the Tesseract, kill Odin and Thor, and finally rule as he was intended. He may even give back the Tesseract to Thanos after doing so, explaining he needed it to get there. He may forgive him.

And if things got serious, he knew many secret passages that lead to other Realms, discovered through his teen years (that had been a major advantage of not having friends: while everyone was out there playing with Thor, Loki explored Asgard entirely and discovered its secrets). He could take Frigga and Sigyn and escape with them, leaving the Tesseract in Odin’s hands just in time for Thanos to arrive and kill him.

Loki was smiling on his bed remembering how wonderful his plan was, when his smile vanished abruptly. Yes, it had been a great plan but things got out of hand.

The Avengers. Those damn humans and that big, stupid green creature. Of course Loki didn’t known about them when he arrived on Midgard.

They had ruined everything.

  


There was a sound on one of the cells. Loki got up from his bed and peeked out to see what was happening: a minor quarrel among other prisoners.  
Damned prisoners. Thieves, most of them. Assassins, some others. They came from many parts of the galaxy and had the misfortune to cross with the warriors of Asgard. Loki despised them with all his soul. It was impossible to believe that he was doomed to spend the rest of his life among them.

Rolling his eyes at the rest of the prisoners, he sat on the sole chair in his cell, feeling the entire weight of his failure on his shoulders: he didn’t have the Tesseract, he wasn’t a King. Instead, he was condemned to spend the eternity locked up in that prison. He had nothing.

Slowly, he caressed his lips with his finger tips. Oh, how much better things  would be if he could kiss Sigyn again. Just one more kiss, that was all he wanted: just one more kiss to endure that horrible punishment. He yearned for her touch, her eyes, her lips, her whole body pressed against his. He missed her like mad. It wasn’t just sexual desire: he wanted to keep her safe, to hear her voice again. To laugh, like they used to do.

Sometimes while being tortured, Loki closed his eyes and thought about her. It was a warm memory on his heart that helped him survive. Thanos had wanted to know what kept him alive and he told him half the truth: yes, his desire of vengeance was there but most importantly, the golden dream of being reunited with Sigyn again.

And now he was there, sitting on a chair and on the verge of tears, but suddenly, contrary to what anyone could expect, a smile began to appear on his face. A few minutes later Loki was laughing hysterically at the confused look of the prisoners in the cell opposite him.

Because... was he really a failure? Had he really lost everything? Of course not. He knew it. Loki had won at the end.  
He was alive. Yes, of course, locked up for all eternity, but alive, after all. And the simple reason why he was alive is because he had wanted it to be that way.

  


Lying on the ground, having been brutally massacred by that huge, green monster they called the Hulk, Loki quickly thought of his options: yes, he was hurt but still had some strength. He was a God, after all. He knew the Avengers already had found the way to close the portal and stop the Chitauri invasion. Maybe he could get back the Tesseract but maybe not. Losing that battle against them wasn’t something that he cared about at all. What did matter to him instead were the consequences before Thanos.

 _“Y_ _ou think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain"._ Those had been the exact words of The Other before sending him to Midgard. If Loki got caught by Thanos without the Tesseract, he would very likely go through a slow and painful death. If Thanos caught him again, the fire would burn this time.

Instead, if Thor caught him and took him back to Asgard, he would live. Better than that, he would be locked and secured on Asgard’s chambers, away from Thanos sight. Did he think about the possibility of getting under the axe on Asgard as a punishment? Yes, of course. There was a chance. But he was almost sure it won’t happen.

Why? Frigga. That’s why. She would never allow something like that to happen. And Loki was extremely grateful with her (he knew all the commodities on his cell were there because of her) not only because she would stop Odin from killing him, but because Loki believed on her love. Frigga had taught him everything he knew, she had been a bright light on the darkness of his life. It wasn’t mere interest, Loki truly loved her. And because of that love, he would be alive and away from Thanos.

“ _There will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you”_

Well yes, The Other have said that too, but Thanos would have to destroy Asgard before getting to him, and way before that he would surely find an opportunity to get out of his cell and escape with Frigga and Sigyn.  

Getting back to Asgard and being locked as a prisoner was the best option he had. Of course, he would have to act surprised and offended when Odin said the sentence, but he would be smiling inside.

So instead of escaping, instead of trying to get the Tesseract back, he just stayed there on the floor and waited until The Avengers did their job. When they came for him he even asked for a drink. And then he was back in Asgard (the place he wanted to get back in the first place), as a prisoner, yes, but alive.

He continued laughing.

Of course he had won.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn gets an opportunity to be reunited with Loki again after a year of him being locked, thanks to the Queen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Frigga.  
> That's all.  
> Oh! And if you pay attention you will find a reference to Hela.

**III**

Shortly after his return, Odin publicly announced Thor was back on Asgard with the prisoner Loki and he had been locked up in the dungeons for life. Many celebrations took place in Asgard, its people congratulating Thor openly and thanking him for all the work he was doing in order to bring peace to the Nine Realms.

Thor felt happy to be home again, and to watch enthusiasm and gratefulness on the asgardian faces. Still, he felt bad for Loki, as if he had been responsible for his actions somehow. He hadn’t spoke with Sigyn since that time when he went to visit her while she was casted out from the city, but thanks to Heimdall he knew she was doing alright. Above all, he missed Jane Foster a lot, and wished to be reunited with her one more time.

—————————————————-

On three occasions Loki saw Frigga during the time he was locked in Asgard’s dungeons.

The first one occurred on a quiet afternoon, when someone entered Loki’s cell.

"Stand back, prisoner" a soldier commanded, pointing a spear towards him.

"Oh, please, don’t kill me, I’m innocent!" he said, putting his arms up with an afflicted expression on his face, followed quickly by a laugh. He was sitting on the chair, drinking innocently a cup of water.

"Laugh all you want. You will never escape this prison" the soldier was followed by other two, who were carrying a small metal car filled with books.

Loki watched them in silence while both soldiers unloaded the books on the floor, over the right corner. "What’s that?" he asked, a little amused.

"A gift from the Queen", answered the soldier with the spear. "She thought you may want to read a little to distract yourself"

"Oh, how considerate…"

Loki stood up after the soldiers left the room. He then approached to look at the pile of books on the floor.

"Noble guard! Just a question!", he called them, approaching to one of the cell’s windows. They turned around for a moment. "Do you know if one of these books explains how to escape Asgard’s dungeons? Because that would be useful"

The guards snorted angrily, and continued their way out of there.

Loki laughed again and looked at the right corner with disdain. Books… like if that would help him to endure four thousand years caged up like an animal. When he turned around to go to bed he stopped abruptly and left out a surprised exclamation. Frigga was standing right in front of him.

"I hope you like them" she said, before vanishing in a green glow.

Of course she wasn’t really there. A basic illusion, one of the first magical tricks she had taught him to do. How interesting to find out those cells weren’t magic proof.

Loki sighed, grabbed a book and went to bed.

—————————————————-

Waiting was an excruciating and difficult task, but Sigyn had got used to it. She continued with her normal chores, searching for new plants to advance on her medical experiments, trying to focus on the results instead of thinking about her loved one again, locked up in that prison.

Months passed by without any sign of the Queen nor Thor. Sigyn knew both would been busy: Thor trying to restore peace to the Nine Realms and Frigga trying to look after Loki, maybe even trying to help them to be together again. Would she have told him about the disguise Sigyn was wearing when he came back? Would he have noticed? She couldn’t know for sure the answers to those questions.

Again, the best thing she could do was to rejoice about the fact Loki was still alive, and wait until the moment was right to be together again.

—————————————————-

Finally the day came when Loki could see and speak with The Queen for the second time.

He had just finished his meal and the guards retired the empty plates. He was sitting on the chair, looking at the ceiling. How long had it been since he had been locked up? A year? Yes, about a year. Almost nothing for the long lives of the Asgardians. Still, it was boring. Very boring.

Loki smiled thinking about his dream of last night. Sigyn and him were together again, in that calm and gorgeous place she had showed him next to Asgard’s most beautiful waterfall. What would she be doing now? Would she thought about him sometimes? Would she missed him?

"Did you like your food?"

Loki looked down quickly and looked at the figure that was standing in front of him.

"Frigga…"

"You used to loved that meal" she said, looking around the cell. "It was your favorite as a child"

"Yes, it was" he stood up. "And what does Odin think about me being fed so splendidly?"

"He doesn’t know, of course" Frigga’s eyes were now fixed on her younger son. "How are you, Loki?"

"I’m locked. Thank you very much for asking"

"I’m glad to see your sense of humor hasn’t disappeared yet"

"Why are you doing all of this? The furniture, the books, the good meals… why all the trouble and effort?"

"I guess my sense of maternity hasn’t disappeared yet, as well"

He laughed softly. Damn, no matter how much he should hate that woman (who wasn’t even his mother, to begin with) he just couldn’t. He knew it. He could never hate Frigga.

"Loki", she continued. "No matter how much you think no one cares about you, that’s a lie. I do"

He didn’t answered and looked in silence how she disappeared again.

—————————————————-

"Eyja! Eyja!" Sigyn called her, very early in the morning.

The old Asgardian lady opened her eyes, a little bit confused. She was just waking up and didn’t understand what was going on. For a brief horrible moment she thought something bad had happened to her adoptive daughter.

The young woman entered Eyja’s room, feeling a little bit embarrassed.

"Oh, Eyja" she said, sitting on the bed, "please forgive me. I must had given you a deadly scare"

"Are you alright, my child?"

"Yes, yes. I am, sorry. It’s just… I really wanted to showed you the message that appeared on the table a few moments ago"

"What message?"

Sigyn held the piece of paper in front of the old woman’s eyes:

 

_Dear Sigyn, come to the palace today, just before sunset. The time is right for you two to meet again. Remember: no one must see you._

_Frigga_

 

"Oh, Sigyn" Eyja caressed her cheek, softly. "Finally. The Queen is very generous"

"She is… I will be always grateful with her", the emotion made her voice tremble. "I will go today, just before sunset, as the message says"

"Sigyn, are you ready?"

"Ready?"

"For seeing him again. You told me the first time you encountered each other again he didn’t even realized it was you. So this will be the first time you actually meet after all the horrible events that happened in the past"

Well, that was true. Sigyn knew it. She couldn’t help but feel extremely curious: what would Loki say to her?, would he be ashamed of his actions?, would he even missed her at all? Last time they talked there was a fight and Sigyn left the Throne Chamber feeling hurt and confused. It was the first time he truly saw Loki’s thirst for power. She understood perfectly where that feeling came from, and felt sorry for him.

"Yes, it will be like the first time we talk, but I am prepared. I just want to be with him. Even if we don’t talk at all, I want to see him, to be in the same room, to look at his eyes again. I need him, Eyja. And he needs me as well"

"I know, my child. I know"

—————————————————-

At the time indicated in the message, Frigga waited for Sigyn outside the secret passage that lead to the library inside the palace.

Sigyn did exactly as indicated, making sure no Asgardian was aware of her visit (except for Eyja, of course). When she encountered the Queen both women bowed their heads briefly and then went to the room where they got reunited when Loki came back to Asgard. Very carefully to make sure there were no guards on sight, the Queen closed the door.

"I think I owe you an apology, Sigyn…"

"Why?"

"All this time without notices. You must have been worried"

"Oh, my Queen, do not worry about me. I was a little impatient but I knew things had to go their curse for a while. I didn’t want you to get in trouble with the King"

"If Odin only knew how many things I’ve done for Loki since he got back here…", Frigga smiled, "He would judge me for treason, as well"

"You are admirable my Queen. To love Loki that way even when he is not your real son…"

"For me, he is. I raised him, fed him, loved him, comforted him when he needed. Taught him everything he knows… I think all of that makes him my true son. You understand that as well. If someone claimed Eyja is not your mother, what would you say?, would you agree with that?”

"Of course not! Eyja is my mother. I wasn’t born from her, but she is my mother"

"Exactly. The same with Loki and me. Odin has vanished Loki from his memory and his affection, but I can’t be like him. I can’t just expel one of my children when they get into trouble. I won’t lose another one that way"

"But you haven’t lost any children that way, fortunately. Both Thor and Loki came back to Asgard"

"Yes… well…" Frigga’s expression became cryptic, her gaze lost in the distance, "I wasn’t talking about them"

Sigyn didn’t understand that last bit of the conversation. Thor and Loki were her only sons, so why she had said that?

"Anyway" Frigga continued, leading the conversation to another topic. "I didn’t call you before because I needed to have everything prepared and making sure the prison cell could endure powerful illusions, just known by few. Now, listen, here is the plan: I haven’t told anything to Loki about the first time he came back. He doesn’t know about this, neither:

What we are going to do is to use the same spell I used the first time with you. Now you will look and talk like one of the guards. You will get to the dungeons and enter Loki’s prison. Don’t worry, you just have to place your spear on the door and it will open magically. The spears have a secret code to open them and those codes are changed everyday. This means, the same code than open the prison cells one day don’t work for the next one. However, your spear has a powerful and difficult magic spell that opens the door two times: when you get in and when you get out. That was another reason why I haven’t called you before: I had to work extremely hard on that spell. One that not even Loki could override or change”

Frigga went towards a table for a moment and when she came back she gave Sigyn a long, golden spear.

"It is important that you are extremely cautious", The Queen continued. "Make sure no other guard sees you entering his prison. Before revealing your true form to Loki, ask him first to cast an illusion so he seems to be alone on his cell”

"And how will I recover my true form? I need you to cast another spell to do so…"

"Loki is a powerful sorcerer. He will know how to do it"

Sigyn nodded, understandingly.

"How long may I stay with him?"

"You can spend the night together, if you want. Thor has returned from his missions on the other Realms so the three of us will have a family dinner. There’s no reason for the King to worry about anything else than greeting Thor. Despite that, please don’t forget to maintain the illusion so no one can see you both inside the cell. That’s crucial. Tomorrow morning, ask him to make you look like a guard again and use the spear to exit the prison. Then, come here. I will be waiting for you”

Spending the night with Loki. That was even better than Sigyn had thought. At last, some time to be alone with her loved one again. The Queen proceeded to cast the spell and some seconds later she had the appearance of one of the guards: a tall, strong, bearded man.

"Sigyn", the Queen said, "before you go, I have to ask you something. No matter how much you want to see Loki free again, you must leave him in his cell. Please don’t even try to liberate him. I can not assure your well being if you two escape and the other guards discover you. In the worst case, Odin will know you both tried to escape and I won’t be able to do anything to prevent him from killing you both"

"I understand my Queen", Sigyn’s replied with the deep, masculine voice of the guard. "It’s a visit. Not an escape. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything else than visit him, I promise"

"Well then, go and good luck"

—————————————————-

Asgard’s dungeons were cold and quiet. The guard’s steps resonated loudly on those underground corridors. She encountered some other guards on his way, more and more as he approached to the cells where the prisoners were held captive. None of them seemed to repair on her, and she advanced firmly down the stairs that lead to the cells and turned immediately to the left.

Before leaning the spear against Loki’s door, Sigyn made sure no other guard was watching. She had to wait for a few moments until a pair of guards were out of sight. Then she proceeded to do as the Queen had said: the peak of the spear glowed with an intense yellow light for a moment and some ancient inscriptions ignited the doors as they opened.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn and Loki talk for the first time since the events that happened in the first Thor movie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make their reunion sweet and romantic, but also give Sigyn the opportunity to say something. I hope to reflect even when she still loves him more than anything, she has changed a bit, but not in a bad way. She has evolved, too.

**IV**

Sigyn entered the cell looking directly at the floor, a little bit nervous. She closed her eyes and hear how the doors closed firmly behind her. The magic of the spear would work just one more time to exit that room.

She raised her head and opened her eyes. The vision almost made her take a step back.

The prison was filled with Lokis, some of them sitting at the bed, some others standing still next to the windows, others sitting on the floor, two of them eating something from a plate on a table. There were some others holding books and another three laying on the floor. All of them wearing comfortable green and black garments.

They looked at the guard intensely, and there was no free space for Sigyn to move. She was paralyzed on her site, looking at them as well. No one said anything for a few seconds.

"Yes, guard? Can we help you?" one of the Lokis sitting on the bed asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Are you lost?" another one asked, putting his book aside.

"What are you doing here?" wanted to know a Loki laying on the floor.

Sigyn gulped. She felt scared, but that was ridiculous, Loki could never hurt her. The only problem was that she had another appearance. It wasn’t really her, apparently.

"I was sent here by The Queen" she replied on that masculine voice so different from hers.

All the Lokis smiled mischievously at the same time. It was a disturbing sight, to be honest.    

"There is a very powerful magic on you, guard", the Loki closest to his right side said. "I wonder why is that"

"Maybe you are not a guard…" a Loki sitting on the chair stood up.  

"And in that case who is this distinguished visitor?" the Lokis laying on the floor stood up as well.

Sigyn took a little step back, instinctively.

"I hope you are not Thor", one of the Lokis that had been standing next to the window approached her, menacing. "Because I would have to kill you. Sorry in advance"

They were getting dangerously closer. Loki had felt something strange on that guard and he was determined to know who he really was.

"Stop!", Sigyn said. They did. "I need you to make an illusion so it appears you are alone here"

There were the sound of steps coming closer.

"Quick!", she urged. "Some guards are approaching"

The Lokis looked at her suspiciously for a moment, and then they all vanished but two: one Loki sitting in the floor reading a book, and another one standing still right next to her side. Sigyn noticed how behind the golden glow from the energy covering the windows, there was another one, colored green. In that very moment a pair of guards passed in front Loki’s cell, just giving a quick glance at it, walking by.

"When someone looks at this cell they will see nothing but me reading a book", said the Loki on her right. It was the same one that had noticed about the magic on her. "Now, let’s find out who you really are"

Sigyn looked directly into his eyes. "Go on"

Loki vanished the illusion and she recovered her original appearance, leaving the spear on the floor. This time he was the one who took a step back and looked at her with surprise on his eyes.

"Sigyn…", he couldn’t believe it. "Is… is this you? Is this really you?"

"Yes, I am. Hello, Loki"

He moved his hand very slowly towards hers. He wanted to touch her, to make sure that she wasn’t some illusion or a bad joke from Odin. The moment he felt her soft and warm skin on his hands (Loki's touch was always cold, due to his Frost Giant nature), he came closer to her. Taking both her hands on his, Loki raised them to his lips and kissed them softly. Oh, it seemed so real. He released her hands carefully and brought his face closer to her neck, where he carefully removed her long dark hair from her shoulders and inhaled her perfume. Slowly, very slowly, he hugged her and traced her back with the tips of his fingers. It was too good to be true, he feared that at any moment she would evaporate.

Sigyn, surrounded by the arms of her beloved, returned the hug gently. She brought her mouth to his ears and whispered: _“it’s me, love. It’s me. It’s real, I am here”_.

He touched her nose with his, still holding her on his arms.

"Oh, Sigyn… I’ve missed you"

He kissed her softly, remembering their whole story: how they have met each other, how they fell in love, all the times they were together, that horrible day she walked away from the Throne Chamber, leaving him alone. He thought he would never saw her again while he was at Thanos’ mercy and now they were reunited again.

 _“Love is for children”_ who have said that to him? Oh sure, that red-haired mortal spy, while asking her about Clint Barton. _“Is this love, agent Romanoff? Love is for children, I owe him a debt”_

Standing there, tasting Sigyn’s sweet lips, Loki thought that if love was for children then he never wanted to grow up.

 

The kiss increased in intensity. Loki hadn’t realized how much he had needed her until that moment. He bit her lips and squeezed her even closer. Sigyn moaned a little and that made him crazy. He wanted to possess her as he did so many times before, he wanted to take her clothes off and make love to her on that bed, in that very moment. The passion was clouding his judgment ...

"Wait…", she said, between passionate kisses. "Wait, Loki. Wait"

He stopped.

"What is it?", he asked, softly, trying to recover his breath. "We’re together now, at last"

"Yes we are, but still, there are some things I would like to talk to you first"

He let her go of his embrace, reluctantly. Why couldn’t she just let herself go and enjoy that moment? He had spent so much time thinking over and over about what had happened, about the consequences and all his plans. Loki didn’t want to think about anything at least once, he just wanted to enjoy her company. Still, he was willing to offer her anything she needed, so he made a gesture, inviting her to sit down.

"How much time do we have?", he wanted to know, after she sat on his bed. "I mean, when do you have to go?"

"I can stay until tomorrow morning. Don’t forget to maintain the illusion so nobody sees me, please"

"Of course I won’t forget that", he looked at the golden spear on the floor with interest. "There’s magic on it as well. I can feel it"

"I am not here to liberate you from this cell, no matter how much I wished to. This is only a visit"

"Understood. Now speak, my loved one. What is that you want to talk about?"

Sigyn doubted. One part of her desired Loki as much as he desired her, but the other part wanted to know exactly what had happened with his mind.

"I just want to understand why you did that. Making an alliance with the Frost Giants, letting them here to ruin your brother’s coronation. Lying to everyone"

"You know why. I wanted to spoil Thor’s party. That idiot doesn’t have any idea of what does it take to rule, he’s pure muscles with no brain at all. All my life hearing Odin and his constant praises for Thor… it sickened me”.

"That’s not an excuse for trying to kill him and Odin. You know that" 

"Don’t tell me I shouldn’t have done it for the damage I could have caused to my family, please", he replied, sarcastically. "They’re not even my family to begin with"

Then, with a more cautious tone, he asked her if she knew the truth about him.

"Of course I know. Odin told all of us. He made a public reunion at the Palace after we thought you were dead. He told us everything: how he rescued you from Jotunheim, brought you here, raised you hoping to seal some peace with Laufey… your father”, she said.

"Great! So everyone knows about my monstrosity", there it was, the sarcastic tone again. "And what do you feel about me? Disgust? Repulsion? Fear?"

"If I felt repulsed by you I wouldn’t even had touched you, let alone kiss you, don’t you think my love?", she could play the sarcastic game as well. "Can’t you see that I am here because I love you, Loki?"

Finally, the words he both desired and feared to hear: _“I love you, Loki”_. He didn’t know how to react to that love, not after everything that had happened. And why was she there to begin with? She didn’t owe him anything. Same with Frigga. Why they continued caring about him when he wasn’t worth of it?

"You are here because you feel sorry about me"

"That’s a lie, Loki. You know it"

"You shouldn’t be here in the first place", his eyes got filled with rage as he approached her. "I am a hideous, dangerous killer monster"

He came closer, menacing, trying to scare her.

"No you’re not. And I am not afraid of you", she remained unperturbed.

"I am adopted. I am a lie"

"Wrong, again. Terribly wrong. And trust me, I know what is it like to be adopted"

"Yes, but Eyja never filled your head with false aspirations that someday you could be worthy to the Throne"

"No, because I don’t have any Throne to aspire to. I am deeply sorry about all the lies and the unfair things you had to endure being raised by Odin, but that is not a reason to become a killer. A traitor. A monster. You are none of those things. And if you lied, manipulated and killed, it was because something (or someone) else was using you, I am sure. You wanted vengeance against Thor, and took it a little bit far… well, not a little bit. But it wasn’t Thor’s fault, I can assure you that”

"Now you like him or what?"

"Don’t be stupid, Loki"

He looked at her, a little bit surprised. The Sigyn he knew before wold never been capable of calling him like that. She had changed. Maybe he was the one to blame, maybe she became more tough during the time he wasn’t around. Despite that, he liked this new Sigyn. This stronger version of the docile woman he had met was fascinating, even when Loki knew she may had gone through some very difficult times and now it was her time to let him know it.

"You should leave now", he said, looking at her, very serious. "Forget about me. Go on with your life. I’m going to rot inside this damn prison. I wanted to give you something incredible, something you have never had dreamed of. I wanted to make you my Queen, because that’s what you deserve”

"I never wanted to be a Queen. I only wanted to be with you"

He had hurt her, and he knew it. He felt ashamed of everything he had done. All that pain she must had endured on her own…

Loki turned his back to her.

"Just go away…", he said, softly. "I always end up hurting the people I care about"

"Oh, no. I am not going to do that", she stood up and walked towards him, grabbing his arm and making him look at her again. "I didn’t came here to just go away or to simply lie on my back and open my legs for you. You are going to listen to me now. Yes, you hurt me. Your absence almost killed me. Yes, I thought you had been reckless and foolish when I heard all the things you did. But I loved you despite all of that.

At first I couldn’t understand why you always seemed to want a little bit more. I offered you everything I had and yet you were searching for something to fill a void inside you. Maybe you have noticed yet, maybe not, but you consider yourself unworthy of love. The only way to control that situation is when you say or do things that hurt others before they can hurt you first, like you just did to me”

"Wow! I think I love you even more now"

"I’m not joking, Loki"

"Me neither"

"I am here because I loved you way before you even realized I existed. And because when we met, we knew we had to be together. It was something both of us felt inside us, and you know it"

"You have changed"

"Everything has changed. Even your hated Thor has. People grow up. People learn. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the love I feel for you"

She let go of his arm. Her words were tough and harsh, but her eyes still looked at him tenderly.

"I hope you still want this love" -she said, finally.

Loki remained silent for a while, taking her hands on his again, watching them intertwined. The he looked at her.

"The thought of you was the only thing that stopped me from going mad", he caressed her cheek. "Of course I want you. I love you. Always"

Both lovers held each other again. All his defenses down, Loki was truly grateful she still loved him, and Sigyn was grateful as well to have recovered him. They kissed one more time before laying on the bed, still holding each other closely. There, she wanted to know about what had happened all the time he was away, and how he got to Midgard. He explained everything, no lies to her. Sigyn listened, horrified. When he finished she covered his face with small kisses.

"I promise to love you as much as you need to forget all those horrors"

"I won’t ever forget them, but I gratefully accept your offering", he smiled. "I am still hiding from Thanos, so I hope he never finds me"

"And if he does, what will you do?"

"I’ll think about something. I promise"

He then asked her about what happened to her while he was away, and she told him everything about her banishment from Asgard.

"You just gave me another good reason to kill Odin", Loki said. She left out a soft laugh.

"I thought about it as well, you know? While I was on my exile"

He kissed her tenderly.

"That’s my girl"

"Oh, Loki…", she laughed again. "Of course that’s not the right way to do things. Even if I killed him, that wouldn’t bring you back to me. Thor came to see me and making sure I was alright. He offered me his protection and support, then and forever”

"Maybe he just wanted to get in your bed"

"No, my love, Thor has changed. I told you. He’s not the presumptuous Prince you grew up with anymore"

"We’ll see about that…"

They kissed again. It felt so good, so natural. For the very first time in what it seemed to be thousands of years, they were together again, happy and in love.

  


Loki’s illusion pretended to have fallen asleep on the chair while the real Loki and Sigyn were in bed holding each other under the covers, naked and satisfied. She didn’t want that night to end.

"I missed making love to you", she whispered, slowly caressing his chest. "Your kisses, the sounds you make, the way you move… my body craved for your touch again" 

He kissed her forehead.

"I missed you too. Madly. You’re even more gorgeous than I remembered"

"Loki, I love you"

"I love you, Sigyn"

He had hear those delicious words almost a thousand times that night: _“Loki, I love you”_. Suddenly, an idea formed on his mind, something he had thought before.

"It was you, am I wrong?"

She looked at him, confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"It was you! At the Throne Chamber!", he seemed amused. "I knew it! I knew it was you!"

"I don’t understand…"

"The day I came back in chains and Odin gave me my punishment. Frigga was there but I noticed something strange. There was something weird, out of place. I was looking at her but I knew something was wrong. Then, when the guards took me to the dungeons, she was there again and said _“Loki, I love you”_ , and I looked at her. I was going to say something but then I knew it. She wasn’t Frigga. It was an illusion, concealing someone else. I thought it was funny, and my suspicion that you were there was confirmed when I remembered the way Frigga was interlacing her fingers and squeezing them together. You do that when you get nervous. I’ve never seen Frigga doing it”

Sigyn was amazed. So he indeed had known something was out of place in that moment. She smiled and kissed him again.

"Yes, it was me. I didn’t even realized I was interlacing my fingers"

"You were doing so when we spoke before Odin"

"I thought you hadn’t noticed"

"I did. I’m a very good observer"

Some fighting sounds came from one of the cells. She held him closer.

"Oh, don’t worry, dear. Sometimes the prisoners fight for food, for space… they’re like that. Don’t be afraid. No one can hurt you while I’m around" 

They both fell asleep shortly after that.

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn has to go, and Loki receives a final visit from his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You will recognize a Dark World scene here. Also, I think what's most important of it all: make sure you always tell your loved ones you love them.  
> You never know when would it be the last time.

**V**

The next morning Sigyn woke up, with Loki next to her, softly caressing her hair.  

"Hello, gorgeous. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, very well actually", she kissed him tenderly. "And you?"

"It was the best night I’ve had in ages"

Loki’s illusion was walking in circles around the cell.

"How long can you maintain an illusion like that?", she wanted to know.

"As long as I like. Sometimes I make those illusions to not get bored, as you saw yesterday"

"Oh, yes… I wish you could maintain that illusion forever, but it’s time for me to go"

She seated on the bed and looked at him with sadness.

"Are you sure we can’t escape together?" he playfully asked, kissing her hand.

"Oh, my love… no, we can’t. We would make things worse. I promise to keep visiting you as much as I can"

It was extremely hard for Loki to let her go, but he had to do it. He was still hopeful someday he would be free again so they could be together forever. He casted the illusion back again on her, and with the guard’s appearance, she was ready to leave the room. Just before doing so, she heard Loki laughing on her back.

"What is so funny?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you to tell me you loved me one more time, but I don’t know if I want to hear it on that deep, masculine voice of yours"

She laughed as well: "Shut up, prisoner, or I will kiss you"

It was a beautiful sight to behold: Loki laughing, smiling with joy. That was just the way she wanted to keep him on her memory, until they meet again.

—————————————————-

The Queen was already waiting for her when she reached the room, and helped her recover her original form. Before going out, Sigyn thanked her again for that enormous gift of being with Loki one more time.

"You make good to each other", Frigga said, smiling. "And you should be together. Let’s hope you can continue coming to visit him. I’ll let you know"

Sigyn left the palace.

—————————————————-

Loki was filled with joy after Sigyn left. He hadn’t been in such good mood in a very long time. He even greeted the guards that occasionally walked in front if his cell, eat gladly the breakfast they brought to him that day, and smiled to the prisoners in the other cells. It was amazing how much she could lift his spirit and making him feel good in that boring hole.

However, his joy dissipated as the day progressed. It was frustrating to be there locked up who knows how long, instead of being with Sigyn outside. Slowly, the weight of the walls surrounding him became heavier than ever, and he felt incredibly alone now that she was gone.

He tried to feel some kind of sympathy towards Odin, tried to understand his reasons to lock him up like an animal… but he couldn’t. He hated him intensely. Maybe someday he would be able to forgive him, just as he had decided to try to forgive Thor (he had to admit it, sometimes he remembered their good times together and laughed. Sometimes he really missed that stupid blonde Asgardian), but now, his hate to Odin continued growing and growing.

He was imagining Odin locked up in that cell, when Queen Frigga appeared right in front of him.

"You were smiling, Loki" she noticed. "What’s so funny?"

"Oh, I was just imagining Odin being locked up here instead. Happy thoughts"

"Mmm…", she looked around for a moment. "Did you enjoy your visit from last night?"

He felt ashamed again. He knew he should thank her, but he couldn’t. Again, his only response to a love demonstration from his mother was to become defensive.

"It was a very pleasant one, yes"

They both looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Well, I didn’t come here expecting you to be thankful. I know you, Loki. And you are welcome, even if you can’t say it. I promised her I will continue helping you two being together"  

"Why?"

"Because you need each other"

Oh, he wanted so much to hold her and thank her for everything she had done… but he couldn’t. He had to learn how to stop having feelings for the Royal Family of Asgard. It wasn’t his family, after all.

Some sounds came from the hall when the dungeons door opened to welcome new prisoners. Loki approached to the window.

"Odin continues to bring me new friends. How thoughtful"

"The books I sent, do they not interest you?", she approached him.

He looked at her, sarcastic.

"Is that how I am to while away for eternity? Reading?"

 **"** I've done everything in my power to make you comfortable"

 **"** Have you? Does Odin share your concern?" that silent rage on his voice, again. "Does Thor? It must be so inconvenient, them asking after me day and night"

 **"** You know full well it was your actions that got you here"

"My actions? I was merely giving truth to the lie that I've been fed my whole life. That I was born to be a king"

 **"** A king? A true king admits his faults. What of the lives you took on Earth?"

 **"** A mere handful compared to the number that Odin has taken himself"

 **"** Your father..."

 **"** HE'S NOT MY FATHER!"

He had lost it. Why did she had to say that? She knew very well that was a lie.

 **"** Then am I not your mother?"

Damn. Damn. Damn. _“You know damn well she is, Loki. You know it. Say it. Admit it”_

"You're not"

 _“You stupid fool”_.

Frigga smiled.

"Always so perceptive about everyone but yourself"

Enough. He had enough. Stop pretending he didn’t care about her, stop treating her wrong. Of course she was his mother, of course she loved him. Thanks to her he had some commodities, good food, and above all he had just spent the night before with his beloved Sigyn. All because of Frigga. His mother.

He wanted to hold her hand but in that moment she vanished. The magic trick was over. Next time Loki would be more respectful, more open, he would call her “mother” and thank her every little thing she had done for him. Next time, he promised.

  
There was no way to knowing that would be the third and last time Loki spoke with Frigga. Ever again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dark Elves attack Asgard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was hard to write this chapter. I swear.

**VI**

Later that day, Sigyn accompanied Eyja for a short walk. Both women walked grabbing each other’s arm, Sigyn feeling happier than ever.

"I like to see you like this", Eyja told her. "That smile on your face fits you very well"

"I still can’t believe I spent the night with him...", she answered with a dreamy expression. "It was wonderful after being separated for so long..."

"I guess it was nice"

"Amazing"

Eyja looked at her suspiciously.

"I hope you won’t forgive his actions, though. What he did in Midgard and what he was about to do to Jotunheim is not to be taken lightly"

The young woman's smile faded.

"I know, Eyja, I swear I know he did wrong and he deserves a punishment. Still, I hope to continue visiting him from time to time to encourage him and make him understand that what he did was wrong and should never try something like that again"

"Let’s hope that all the evil in Loki’s heart will someday disappear"

"I have faith in that"

The Asgardians saw Sigyn with sadness, feeling deep pity for her. After consider her practically crazy for falling in love with a monster like Loki, now they felt compassion for that beautiful woman who had to live all eternity knowing that her beloved would die locked in the dungeons of Asgard. Maybe that's why they were being nicer to her and murmuring things like _"poor Sigyn"_ in a low voice, every time they crossed her path. In that moment, an Asgardian stopped to greet the two women affectionately. They were talking when Sigyn noticed a familiar figure approaching them.

"I’m going to greet Thor, if you excuse me" Sigyn separated from the asgardian and Eyja, walking a little bit further to meet the blonde Prince. She was a little bit surprised when she found out he wasn’t alone: walking next to him there was a brunette woman Sigyn had never seen in her life, although she was wearing asgardian garments.

"Greetings, Lady Sigyn", Thor stopped right in front of her. "Long time without seeing you"

"Greetings, Prince Thor. Long time indeed", she noticed the brunette woman looked at her curiously.

"Let me introduce you Lady Jane Foster", Thor looked at the mysterious woman. "Jane, this is Lady Sigyn, I’ve known her for a while"

"Oh, nice to meet you!" Jane extended her right hand, offering it to Sigyn, who looked at her and then to Thor, confused.

"Yes, uhm… Jane is not from here" Thor said, amused. "We don’t greet each other like that on Asgard, Jane"

"Ups! Sorry…", she was visibly nervous. "Well, nice to meet you anyway, Lady Sigyn"

"Nice to meet you, too, Lady Jane. Where are you from?"

"I’m from Earth. I just got here"

Sigyn looked at Thor, suspiciously.

"Earth? Where’s that?"

"Midgard!" he said. "She means Midgard"

"Oh! Understood"

Jane smiled awkwardly.

"And…" she said, "Where did you two meet? Are you childhood friends or are you a warrior or something like that?"

"I am Loki’s beloved"

Jane was surprised.

"Loki’s? Wow! I mean… wow!"

"Do you know him?"

"Everyone on Earth, sorry, Midgard knows him! He was the crazy one who tried to invade New York, killed many people and…" Jane stopped talking when she saw Sigyn’s hurted expression. "Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that"

"Do not worry", Sigyn replied. "He did it, that’s true"

"Well, I’m very happy to see you again, Lady Sigyn", Thor said. "I think you are glad to know Loki will live, despite his actions. Locked up forever on a prison cell, but alive, anyway"

"Yes, I know", oh, Thor. That last bit wasn’t necessary. He was as awkward as Jane. "Have a good day"

"Thank you, have a good day as well"

Thor took Jane’s arm gently and both started walking again. Sigyn looked at them until they got lost of sight. The way Thor looked at that mortal gave him away: he was in love with her. It was such an interesting question what was doing a mortal on Asgard but it was none of her business, anyway. If Thor had brought Jane just to be with her, Sigyn had no problem with that.

She knew very well how much it hurts to be away from your loved one.

  


"It was a good idea to spend the rest of the afternoon outside, Sigyn"

"It is a beautiful day, don’t you think?"

Both women were seated next to a fountain in one of the many Asgardian gardens. After her brief encounter with Thor and his mortal girlfriend, Sigyn suggested to enjoy the evening outside instead getting back home. Eyja agreed to that, it was a beautiful day indeed.

"Your mother loved this place" the old woman said, holding Sigyn’s hand on hers. "We used to come here when she was pregnant"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I remember her almost everyday"

"I wish I had memories of her… and of my father, as well"

"They would have been very proud to see the woman you have become"

"Do you think they would have liked Loki?"

"Not his actions, of course. But to see you so happy and in love… that’s something they couldn’t have ignored, just like me"

In that moment some guards passed next to them, running. _“To the palace, now!”_ one of them said. Some other guards that were near them started running too.

"What’s happening?"

"I don’t know…" Sigyn couldn’t help but worry. A very unpleasant feeling something was wrong started invading her.

Eyja looked at her, very seriously: "Do you think… Loki…"

"No! No, it’s… it’s alright. He’s fine. He’s fine", Sigyn stood up, unable to shake off that annoying certainty something bad had happened at the palace. "Let’s go, Eyja. Time to get back home"

  


Panic started to run through the streets of Asgard. It was very strange that suddenly all of the guards and warriors had gone running directly to the palace. Asgardians were confused and many of them were returning to their homes.

_“Have you heard?”_

_“What happened?”_

_“Something at the palace”_

_“I heard a guard screaming trouble in the dungeons! when he passed next to me”_  

Sigyn heard the conversations between asgardians as she returned back home with Eyja next to her. They were walking fast (or at least as fast as Eyja’s old legs allowed) and she started worrying even more. _“Trouble in the dungeons”_. Loki.

"Do you think he tried to escape?" Eyja asked, trying to walk faster.

She didn’t answer. For his own good, she really hoped not.

They entered a building (the public observatory) and had to stop so Eyja could recover her breath.

"Quick, Eyja, we need to get back home. I don’t like this"

"Yes… yes, my child", she was visibly tired. "Just a moment…"

There was a strange sound in the sky and many Asgardians started screaming.

"I’ll be right back" Sigyn said to the old woman and ran outside the building to look at the sky and she saw two strange dark ships, not Asgardian at all, coming right to where they were. The ships were moving very fast and Asgard’s armed forces starting shooting at them. There were many explosions in the sky but the ships continued approaching. Now people were running and screaming in chaos.

Sigyn ran back to the building when one of the ships was shot down by Asgardian forces and collided loudly against it, causing it to crash down.

"EYJA!" she ran even faster, but in that moment what was left of the ship exploded. The detonation threw her and other asgardians through the air, hitting the floor violently when she came down.

Sigyn was left unconscious.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn receives very sad news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always felt that Frigga's funeral is one of the most (if not, THE most) moving scenes in the MCU.

**V**

When Sigyn opened her eyes again she felt disoriented. Her head still hurt, as all of her muscles. She tried to stand up, carefully.

"Oh, no, no, what are you doing?" a woman approached her, laying her down again.

"Where am I?"

"At the healing facilities. Asgard was attacked and you got injured"

She started to remember that whole day: she woke up in the morning in Loki’s cell, then got back home, went out for a walk with Eyja, encountered Thor and the mortal woman, then Eyja and her were seated at the gardens and then…

"Eyja" she whispered.

"Who?"

"Where’s Eyja? She was inside the building when the explosion happened"

"What building? The observatory?"

"Yes, there were many people inside. She is an old woman with long, braided grey hair. She was wearing a yellow dress… where is she? Is she here? Is she injured?"

The woman looked at her with infinite sadness on her eyes.

"I am so sorry… she is not here. All of the asgardians that were inside the observatory unfortunately died. The building crashed down on them. The guards recovered their bodies. There was no one left alive”

Sigyn felt her heart broke. A painful, sharp pain invaded her chest. She started crying, unable to calm down.

"Oh, no, no…", she kept sobbing. "No, no, no… she is my mother. She can’t be dead, please no…"

Sigyn’s laments resonated loud and clear on that room. The woman felt so sorry for her loss, she sat next to her bed and held one of her hands.   

"Oh, my dear, I am sorry", tears filled her eyes. "It has been a horrible day, many lives were lost. Even the Queen…"

Sigyn couldn’t stop crying but when she heard that, she sat on the bed again.

"What did you say about Queen Frigga?"

"She’s dead as well, child" the woman stood up, wiping away her tears. She spoke with a broken voice. "There is going to be a collective funeral tonight, to say goodbye to her and to all the lives that were lost today"

Sigyn had to gasp for air because she thought she was gonna pass out again. What a horrible nightmare was that? Frigga also dead? What had happened?

"Who attacked us?", she managed to ask. "Do you know?"

"Dark Elves. Ancient enemies of Asgard. Why, nobody knows"

"Have you heard something from the palace? About what happened in the dungeons?"

"Apparently some monster from the Elves liberated the prisoners"

Sigyn’s heart skipped a bit.

"All of them?"

"Well… not exactly all of them", the woman spoke with caution. "I know you are referring to Loki. But he’s still at the dungeons"

"Alive? Is he hurt?"

"I don’t know about that. The guards told us Loki was never released from his cell"

She sighed, tears still running through her cheeks.

"I have to get out of here"

"But you were injured! You should wait until tomorrow…"

"Both my adoptive mother and the woman I loved as one were killed today", Sigyn said, standing up. "I’m attending their funeral. Don’t even try to stop me"

The woman watched her go in silence.

—————————————————-

All Asgardians, men, women and children were reunited outside their houses that night, filling the streets. Many of them were holding a _“memory star”_ , a white bright sphere, to commemorate the lives of the ones that had died on that terrible day.  

Sigyn was holding one with Eyja’s name written on it. She was very serious, standing still in front of one of the rivers that crossed the city and lead to the Asgard sea. There were flower petals on the water, and a big royal golden boat was navigating across it.

The body of Frigga, Queen of Asgard, mother of Thor and Loki, rested on the boat. She was surrounded by flowers, on a beautiful orange dress, holding a sword, meaning she had died fighting. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully. When the boat passed right in front of Sigyn, she bowed her head, respectfully. Frigga, the woman who had loved her as a daughter, who had helped her to reunite with her beloved Loki, was now dead. She would never forget her.

Some other boats appeared from other rivers that crossed the city, and Sigyn could see the one containing Eyja’s body. She also had a peaceful expression on her face, still wearing the yellow dress Sigyn last saw her on. She blew a small kiss to the boat with her hand. Eyja. Her mother.

The boats reached the sea and then archers threw fire arrows that landed on them, burning the bodies. When the royal boat reached the end of the sea, Frigga’s ashes elevated, shining bright, becoming part of the Universe.

Sigyn let go of her memory star, and it elevated alongside the others, lighting up the Asgardian sky.  


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn gives Thor her condolences for his mother's death and he tells her about his plan to defeat Malekith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thor is a nice guy and he had such an important evolution through this movie (The Dark World)  
> Hope you like this chapter!

**VI**

The next day Sigyn sat alone at the table, barely eating her breakfast. All the events that had happened the day before seemed to be part of a terrible nightmare, one she had hoped to wake up from when she opened her eyes that morning. When she went to Eyja’s room and saw her empty bed, she understood it hasn’t been a nightmare and cried for a long time. King Odin had declared a week of mourning for all the lives that had been lost during the attack, and closed down the Bifrost.

How many disgraces one can endure before losing all hope? How many horrors? She had lost her parents, lost Loki first and then recovering him just to leave him locked away on a prison, Eyja was dead, Frigga was dead…

She felt more alone than ever, wishing she could hold Loki in that very moment, sharing his loss. She knew Loki loved Frigga as well (even if he wasn’t able to say it), and he must surely be suffering. Without The Queen, of course, all possibilities of seeing him again were lost as well. Forever. But there was no time to cry for that. Someone else had loss his mother too, someone Sigyn truly appreciated.

She left her home and went directly to the palace.  

—————————————————-

So many things had happened recently Thor thought he was going mad. The death of his mother hurted him deeply and even when he respected his father greatly, he had started to question his actions.

 _“He will spill all the asgardian blood necessary to win against Malekith_ -he kept thinking-. _I won’t allow more deaths. There has to be another way to win this, and I think I know how”_

First, he visited Heimdall and asked him to reunite with him later, in private. Then, Thor came back to the palace to inform The Warriors Three he wanted to talk with them that night, in a secret meeting. After that, when Thor was walking down the stairs that lead to the Palace he encountered Sigyn, who was climbing them up.

"Lady Sigyn! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, Thor. I just wanted to give you my condolences for your mother’s death"

"Thank you, Sigyn", he held her, briefly but affectionately. "She died as a warrior. With honor"

"It couldn’t have been any other way. She was a very brave woman"

He smiled at her, even though there was sadness on his eyes.

"How’s Eyja? Were you safe during the attack?"

She looked down. A tear ran through her cheek.

"Sigyn…", Thor left her head, carefully. "What happened?"

"She is dead. Eyja is dead"

"What?"

"One of the ships crashed into the public observatory. She was inside. She died"

Now he was the one who looked down.

"I am so sorry, Sigyn. Condolences on your loss. She was your mother"

"We both lost our mothers the same day. Peculiar, isn’t it?"

He looked at her again and then took her by the arm.

"Come with me, Sigyn. I have to tell you something"

—————————————————-

The Prince took Sigyn to an almost empty tavern. Once there, they seated down.

"Before you start I have to ask, if you do not mind, where is the mortal woman? Jane. Is she safe?"

"Yes, she is", he seemed irritated. "But my father had locked her up in a room at the palace"

"Why?"

"Because she is the reason the Dark Elves attacked us"

Sigyn listened, attentively.

"There is something very powerful and ancient called the Aether", Thor began, in a low voice. "The Dark Elves want to have it back so they can bring the Universe to an age of darkness. Jane found it by accident, and now it runs through her veins. I took Jane here when Heimdall told me she was in danger. Malekith, the leader of the Elves, attacked Asgard because he somehow feels the power of the Aether on her"

"Are the Elves still here?"

"Probably. They have their own defenses, they’re invisible to our eyes. Even Heimdall can’t see them. I am telling you this because I think you deserve to know why Eyja and Frigga died. You loved them both and they loved you as well. Also, because I have a plan to destroy Malekith, and it involves someone you truly care about”

"Loki"

"What I’m planning to do is treason of the highest order. My father won’t ever allow it but I have no other choice, I won’t spill more asgardian blood. Tonight I’m going to tell The Warriors Three about my plan so they can help me. I will go to the dungeons and liberate Loki tomorrow. He is the only one that knows secret passages that lead to other realms. I need him to take Jane somewhere where the Elves won’t hurt anyone else. I am going to fight Malekith and liberate her from the Aether”

"You love her, don’t you?"

"I do. Why you’re asking?"

"Because if you didn’t you wouldn’t care as much for her well-being. You would just kill her to stop the Aether to end up in Malekith’s hands"

"I guess I would… but I love Jane so I won’t ever allow something bad happening to her" 

"I understand. I know what is like to love someone"

"Yes, you do", Thor got closer to her. "Loki may love you still, but I assure you he has no good feelings left for me. He tried to kill me on Midgard, and I’m sure he will try to do it again given the chance. I need him to defeat Malekith, and after doing so he will go back to his cell. If he tries to escape or betrays me, I will have to kill him. I want you to know that”

Sigyn sighed, resigned.

"I trust Loki. I know he would never hurt me but with you…", she looked him right in the eyes. "With you things are different. I do not know what he would do, so… I guess I understand"

"Loki is unpredictable. I know letting him out is a mad idea but I don’t have other choice. Besides, my mother and him had a very special relationship. He must been filled with revenge thirst. If that helps me defeat Malekith, then he is welcome on my plan"

Sigyn nodded. She only had to hope for Loki not to do anything stupid.

"Heimdall is going to be here in a moment", Thor said. "He would have to help me as well"

"It’s time for me to go, then" she stood up. "Again, my condolences for your mother’s loss. Good luck, Thor. Please come back with him”

Sigyn found Heimdall when she left the tavern and greeted him briefly. Then, he got inside to know what was that important thing Thor wanted to talk him about.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn receives a visit from Thor after he defeats Malekith.  
> WARNING: some descriptions of suicide ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of PART III.  
> If you have reached here, thank you SO MUCH for reading. Please comment anything you want! I will be watching Ragnarok again soon so I can continue with the story.  
> Thank you again!

**VII**

Sigyn woke up early the following day, and started cleaning Eyja’s room. She locked respectfully all of her things in cabinets and drawers. It was hard to look at her dresses and hair ornaments, knowing she would never use them again. Even when her adoptive mother wasn’t a young woman anymore, she still had one or possibly two thousand years left to live, but now she was dead because of Malekith and his conquest for the Aether. She remembered the words Thor told her the day before: _“I am going to fight Malekith and liberate her from the Aether”_ , and he would use Loki’s help.

"Loki…" Sigyn said softly, but there wasn’t a loving voice to comfort her anymore. This time the house was silent.

  


About an hour later she heard explosions and gunfire. Scared, Sigyn thought the worst: maybe the Dark Elves had decided to attack again.

She ran to the balcony, just in time to watch one of their black ships flying directly above her house. The ship was being shot by asgardian armed forces, and there were already some ships following it, trying to bring it down. A moment later, it was gone.

Maybe it were the Elves, but maybe (just maybe) it was Thor the one that was on the ship, Loki and Jane on board as well. He didn’t tell her exactly how he was planning to leave Asgard, and since the Bifrost was closed, using one of the enemies ships to escape sounded like the most logical idea.

"Hopefully it’s them" she said, and entered back to the house.

—————————————————-

There were six different types of flowers on the table at Sigyn’s house, besides some ancient books. She was reading something in one of them, before leaving it open among the other books, taking one of the flowers, cutting the petals and putting them inside some crystal bottles filled with bright liquids. Sigyn had spent the whole day preparing potions and herbal remedies, and now she wanted to continue experimenting, combining different flowers and looking at the results. Fortunately, none of the flowers left were poisonous, even though she had indeed used a venomous one some hours ago…

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was Thor himself.

"Oh, please come in, come in", she said. The blonde Prince entered the house and stood there, facing her.

"And?" she asked, nervous, interlacing her fingers. "How was it? Did you succeed in your mission? Is Malekith dead? The Universe safe?"

"Yes, he is" he looked tired and sad. "Everything is fine now"

"Great news!" she breathed deeply, relieved. That meant Loki was safe as well. "Is your mortal woman safe?"

"She is. But I had to leave her on Earth"

"Oh… I’m sorry"

"I just spoke with my Father. I told him I’m not planning to rule Asgard from the Throne"

"What? Don’t you want to be King?"

"I want to protect Asgard and the Nine Realms, but I have no desire of doing so seated on the Throne Chamber"

"I understand…"

There was an awkward silence. Why he hadn’t tell her anything about Loki yet? Thor was looking absently to the floor and in that moment she knew it. She knew he had news she didn’t want to hear.

"Thor?" he looked at her. "Where is Loki?"

The God of Thunder looked again to the floor, sighing sadly. _“Here they come_ -she thought-, _the bad news. Here they come…”_

"He escaped, didn’t he?" Sigyn asked hopefully.

Thor looked at her again and spoke very slowly:

"Sigyn… I wish I didn’t have to tell you this, but… Loki died"

He was expecting her to scream, crying inconsolably. Instead, she remained silent, which was even more worrying.  

"Sigyn?"

She blinked, confused. "What?"

"He died. In Svartalfheim"

"Are you sure?"

"I saw him with my own eyes", Sigyn covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes. Thor continued, coming close to her. "He saved my life. I was fighting against a monster and Loki destroyed it to save me, but the monster wounded him deadly. He died on my arms"  

She remained silent for some seconds, tears started running through her cheeks. Thor didn’t know what to do. In that moment, Loki’s death hit him hard, and he felt a shivering cold on his heart. Then Sigyn opened her eyes and wiped away the tears.

"Thank you for coming here and telling me" she said, with a broken voice.

"I am deeply sorry. I know you loved him more than anything"

"And you?"

"We went through a lot… I loved him deeply, then he tried to kill me, went to Earth, threatened the world I love, tried to kill me again. Then we came back here and even when I knew the truth about his origin and all the horrible things he did… in those last moments together I saw my brother again. And he saw me as his brother, too. We said farewell in good terms. He died with honor, saved my life. I will never forget that"

"He wasn’t a monster. He said he was, but he wasn’t. He was Loki. Just Loki"

Both remained silent. Sigyn looked at the bottles on the table and pointed to one of them.

"See that bottle there?", Thor look at it. It was a long, crystal recipient filled with a black liquid. "It’s poison. I made it today, using a venomous flower and toxic plants"

Thor looked back at her, confused.

"I was planning to drink it in case Loki didn’t return"

"Sigyn…" Thor came even closer. "Don’t"

"I have nothing left. I’ve lost everything"

"You are a good woman that has been through a lot of suffering, lady Sigyn. I care about you, please, reconsider. There have been enough deaths already. I do not want to add yours to the list"

She smiled sadly at him.

"I know you have great steem towards me, Thor. You are probably the only one in the entire Universe who still cares about me. But you are not him"

She walked towards the table and grabbed the bottle. Thor left Mjolnir on the floor, ready to stop her with his bare hands if necessary. Some excruciating moments passed while she looked at the crystal recipient intensely, and then she threw it on the floor, crashing into a million pieces, the black liquid evaporating.

"I am going to live" she said, firmly. "Because I do not want Eyja nor Frigga to be disappointed of me, putting such a horrible ending to my existence. I am going to live, because there are things I want to know, to learn, to experience. I am going to live, because I want to see the day you will rule the Nine Realms wisely. I am going to live, even if it’s just to make Odin angry with my existence, reminding him constantly about the son he forgot.

And finally, I am going to live because Loki wouldn’t have wanted me to kill myself”   

Thor looked at the woman in front of him with a renewed and powerful respect.

"Long live to you, Lady Sigyn" he said, taking Mjolnir and leaving her house.


	19. PART IV  (Between Thor the Dark World & Thor Ragnarok)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> King Odin (who's really Loki in disguise) explains to the Asgardians about Thor's excellent work on saving the Universe from Malekith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back dear readers! This is the beginning of Part IV and its gonna be a little interlude before we get to the events on Thor Ragnarok. Hope you like it and THANKS AGAIN for reading and supporting.

**I**

The day after her conversation with Thor, Sigyn had to go to the palace again because King Odin demanded the presence of everyone on Asgard. When she crossed the main entrance couldn’t help but smile sadly, remembering how much she loved to go to the palace before, when Loki and Frigga still lived. Now, the palace was nothing but a golden shell, ruled by Odin, who Sigyn hated.

She positioned herself among the other asgardians and saw Odin standing up in front of the Throne, Thor to his right side. The Warriors Three were standing next to him.

The King commanded silence with a hit of his golden sceptre on the floor.

"Asgardians, I commanded you all to come here today because you deserve to know what happened since the Dark Elves attacked us" Odin said. "Our valorous Thor went to Svartalfheim to defeat Malekith and he almost died. Fortunately, he could escape to Midgard and there he fought an intense battle, defeating Malekith and bringing peace to the Universe"

The asgardians cheered with joy. Thor seemed humbled for such recognition.

"We have been blessed to have Thor among us…" Odin shot a quick glance to his son, "but before telling you more, I want him to tell you what happened to him in Svartalfheim"

Thor looked at his father, a little bit confused. "To tell what happened to me?"

"Yes, my son. Why you almost died and who saved you"

Thor seemed uncomfortable for a moment and spoke softly to Odin: "Can we talk a little bit first, Father?"

Odin approached him. The asgardians were confused.

"Do you want me to tell them I commited treason, liberating Loki from his cell?" Thor whispered to the King, when he stood in front of him.

"Of course, son" he seemed amused, slightly amused. "You have to tell them about your plan and Loki’s actions in all of this. You are alive thanks to him, isn’t it true? You wouldn’t want to disrespect his memory, would you?"

Thor lowered his head, of course he didn’t want to do that. Taking a deep breath, he walked a couple of steps forward and started talking:

"Asgardians, I have something to confess openly. I committed treason before going to Svartalfheim" -whispers among the crowd-. "I needed to escape Asgard through a secret path and the only one to know it was Loki, so… I liberated him from prison"

The asgardians left out loud surprise exclamations. Sigyn, already knowing about it, remained in silence.

"I think you should know Loki saved my life. He killed Kurse before it killed me. Without Loki, I wouldn’t be here talking to you"

The asgardians looked to each other, uncomfortable. That meant Loki was good and they were truly grateful, but what about everything that happened on Midgard? He almost destroyed Jotunheim! What should they feel about Loki now, gratitude? Should they forget everything bad he had done?

“And where is him?” someone asked.

_“Yes, where?”_

_“Is he locked in the dungeons again?”_

_“Are we safe?”_

The asgardians wanted to know the truth. Thor looked at Odin, who nodded.

"You are safe…" Thor said, sadness on his voice. "Loki won’t do anything bad again. He can’t. He’s dead"

Sigyn already knew that too, but hearing it again hurted her nevertheless.

"Loki died trying to save me"

Silence on the crowd. Sigyn noticed how everybody’s eyes were fixed on her. _“Oh, poor Sigyn”_ one voice said.

_“Just when Loki does something good, he dies”_

_“Her mother died too a couple of days ago”_

_“Poor Sigyn. Her whole life has been a tragedy”_

Odin commanded silence again.

"Thank you Thor, that is enough" the King placed himself again in front of his son, facing the people of Asgard. "As my son says, Loki died saving him. It was a noble, honorable, dignified death. I want to confess openly that I was wrong, terribly wrong about all the horrible things I said about Loki before. I feel ashamed of the way I treated him"

"Loki was a hero, a worthy son and I will regret forever not telling him the truth" Odin looked solemnly to the ceiling. "Loki, my son, if you are listening to me, please forgive all the errors both Thor and myself did to you. Please, let’s keep silent for a moment to honor his memory”

All Asgardians lowed their heads and stood up in silence. The Warriors Three and Thor looked briefly at each other, confused, before doing it as well. Sigyn also did it, but she was even more confused. What in the Nine Realms was going on? Odin hated Loki, why all the kind words and the silence?

After a few moments, Odin spoke again:

"I will make sure Loki’s memory continue living in Asgard. His name will be remembered forever. Now, asgardians, you can go…”

"Ejem, Father…" Thor interrupted him, speaking softly again. "Weren’t you going to tell them about my decision?"

"Oh yes, yes, sure… uhm, just before you go, I also have something else to tell you about Thor. My loved son, my brave, fearless, strong and wise son - _what was that on Odin’s voice, sarcasm?_ -,"has decided not to accept his destiny as King of Asgard"

Confused exclamations again on the Asgardians. Sigyn could see Lady Sif looking at Thor, asking him without a sound “WHAT?”

"Yes, well, don’t you panic" Thor spoke to the crowd again. "I am going to protect Asgard and the Nine Realms, of course I am. Just not from the Throne. Father has allowed me to travel at my disposal through the Universe, doing as I need to guarantee peace among all creatures. I am going to dedicate the rest of my life to make sure you are safe, asgardians. That’s a promise”

Excited cheers. Applauses. A general ovation.

"YOU CAN GO NOW!" said Odin among the loud expressions of joy. "Go, go, go"

He walked away while Thor was hugged vigorously by Lady Sif and The Warriors Three. Sigyn smiled, things must surely go well from now on. If only Eyja, Frigga and Loki could have seen it…

Just before turning around to leave the palace, she saw Odin briefly, seated on the Throne. He saw her as well and smiled mysteriously. There was something too familiar on that smile that she didn’t like.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki reveals his true identity to Sigyn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't really sure of how Sigyn should react discovering Loki is alive and he has been fooling everyone, but I think I am satisfied with the result. It's not too funny but not too serious neither. They're just two soulmates that find each other again.  
> Hope you like it!

**II**

Ten days passed since that reunion on the palace, before Odin requested Sigyn’s presence. She was walking calmly through the streets of Asgard, absorbed on her thoughts, when she stumbled across a guard.

"Oh, I am sorry…"

"Sigyn", he said, firmly. "King Odin requests your presence at the palace"

She grimaced. "You can say to King Odin that Frigga is dead, Loki is dead, and I don’t have anything to talk to him. Thank you" she started walking again, when the guard took her by the arm, not so strongly to hurt her but enough to make her stop. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"I am afraid it is not a proposal you can refuse" two guards appeared, suddenly. "You have to come with us"

She sighed. There was no other way.

"Understood, then. Take me to him"

—————————————————-

The guards walked her through some rooms and corridors.

"Are we not going to the Throne Chamber?" she asked.

"No, the King is somewhere else"

One of the guards opened a door after walking a little bit more, and Sigyn entered to a big golden room she had never been in before: on the walls there were strange maps that moved, showing the constellations and other parts of the Universe. A big library with many books was at the back, some golden vessels here and there, and on the center of it an enormous table with more maps and gilded objects. Odin was looking at one of them with curiosity when they entered.

"Oh, you are here. Well done. Leave us alone" he dismissed the guards with a gesture of his hand and they left. The Allfather put back the gilded object on the table and looked at her.

Sigyn didn’t say anything, the last thing she wanted to do was to talk with Odin.

"Thank you for coming, Lady Sigyn" he said after a moment.

"I did not want to but I had no other choice" she looked at the old man, defiantly. He laughed softly and started walking away from the table, approaching her.

"Is that a proper way to treat your King?"

"Are you going to cast me out again?" she replied, not afraid at all. She knew behaving like that would possibly get her killed, but she couldn’t help it. "Does my presence on Asgard still offend you, my King?"

She made a wide bow. Odin looked at her, amused.

"Oh, I am sorry if I offend you with my behavior, _my King_ ", another big, exaggerated bow. "I would appreciate a lot if you just tell me what do you require from me because, with all respect, I just want to get back home. I have things to do"

Odin laughed softly. "You sound just like him…"

"Excuse me?"

"You sound just like Loki"

"And are you surprised, my King?" she crossed her arms. That little game was starting to annoy her.

He didn’t answer. Instead, he came closer and stopped at a few steps from her.

"Do you really know how beautiful you are, Sigyn?"

She stood there, looking at Odin with a confused expression.

"I don’t understand"

"I think you are the most gorgeous of all the women on Asgard. I’ve always thought that"

She uncrossed her arms slowly. What was going on?

"Is this some kind of joke?, because it’s not funny. Are you mocking me?"

"Of course not. Not at all", he walked away, thoughtful. "I’ve been thinking. Maybe it’s time for me to find myself another Queen…"

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

"Have you gone completely mad?"

"Would you be interested?" he asked, walking again towards her.

"On what?"

He approached a little bit closer and Sigyn was ready to kick the King if necessary, when a green glow covered Odin from head to toe, disappearing immediately. Odin was gone and in front of her was Loki.

"On being my Queen of course", he said.

Sigyn left out a brief scream and gave a step back, surprised and scared. Loki laughed and smiled widely: "Hello, my love"

She slapped him as hard as she could. Making a painful gesture, he caressed slowly his now red and sore cheek.

"Why all women have to do that to me?" Loki asked, referring to the slap Jane Foster had given to him when they first met.

Sigyn pushed him hard.

"Hey! Stop!", he complained. "It was a joke, I am sorry. Calm down"

She pushed him again, this time less harder. "Are you real?"

"You have just hit me"

"Why you didn’t call me before?"

"I had to take care of some things, speak with the people, give orders to the guards, receive the status of all the other Realms… I wanted to see you, I swear, but now that I am Odin I had some urgent matters to solve"

"What did you do to Odin?, where is he?"

"Well… let’s say I sent him to a better place"

"Did you kill him!?"

"No!, I didn’t. No"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Are you telling me the truth, Loki?"

"Of course I am! You are the only one who knows about this"

"And why didn’t you kill him?"

He mumbled something unintelligible, sighed, looked at the floor, sighed again and looked at her. He seemed uncomfortable.

"So…?"

"I… well… I just…", he laughed, nervous. "Why killing him, right? I mean, getting my hands dirty with his blood? Ugh, gross. He’s not worth it"

She smiled.

"What’s so funny?"

"You are not a killer, after all" she caressed softly the cheek she had slapped a few moments ago.

"Oh, I have killed before, I assure you that…"

"I know. But you are not that anymore. You have changed, and I am proud"

He took her hand and left a tender kiss on it.

"Anyway, I hope wherever you have sent him, he is in good conditions"

"Lady Sigyn worrying for Odin’s well-being?" he asked, sarcastically. "Why? Do you care about him now?"

"Of course not. I hate him. But… well, he’s Thor’s father and Thor is my friend"

"Oh, let’s not talk about him please. I get headache"

Sigyn wondered for a moment if that was a dream. "I can’t believe you are alive. Thor said that horrible thing had killed you"

"We had some troubles in Svartalfheim, yes" he held her hands. "But I am smart, my love. I just had to find the perfect opportunity to escape from Thor’s sight and get back here"

"So you just saved Thor for that?"

"No…" the satisfaction grin on his face disappeared and he got serious. "I saved Thor because I really wanted to. I don’t know what happened, but I just knew I couldn’t let him die…"

"Oh, Loki…", she hugged him. "See? You have changed"

"Have I?"

They held each other tight. Tears of joy started running through Sigyn’s cheeks. Once again, Loki was alive.

"I am starting to think nothing can kill you, Loki"

"You could"

"Oh, really? How?"

"If you stop loving me"

She let go of his embrace and took his face in her hands, looking directly into his eyes. "That will never happen. I promise"

They kissed gently.

"What are we going to do now?", she asked. "Nobody knows you are alive impersonating Odin"

"We’ll keep things this way. No one will know, trust me. I just gave Thor the entire liberty to travel across the Universe as much as he wants. Having him away from here will be extremely helpful"

"And what about the Warriors Three? They could suspect"

"I’ll think about something. Don’t worry, my dear. We can maintain this as long as we want to. Go back home, as usual. I will let the guards know that you have complete freedom to enter the palace whenever you want. They won’t ask questions, just follow orders. We could meet here in secret and being together without no one to disturb us”

She agreed. It sounded like a good plan.

"Oh, I almost forgot", he added with a sad expression. "Among the things I asked to the guards these days, was the name of the asgardians who died when the Dark Elves attacked. It was horrible to read Frigga’s name on the list, of course. But a few lines under, Eyja’s name appeared”

She looked down.

"I am terribly sorry, my love. I didn’t have idea. I feel so sorry for your loss"

"Thank you, Loki" she faced him again. "I feel sorry for you, as well. We both lost our adoptive mothers the same day"

"It was me who told that monster to take the stairs to the left. Thanks to that he murdered my mother. It was my fault"

"It was me who told Eyja to spend the rest of that day outside, instead of going back home. If we had been there, she wouldn’t have died. It was my fault"

Loki smiled, sadly. "Seems we are more similar than we thought"

 

Sigyn stayed a little bit longer with him and then Odin called back the guards to accompany her back home. They had a plan, and if everything went right, they could be together again.

Maybe forever, even.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People on Asgard have been talking. There's something really strange about Sigyn spending so much time with Odin...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first thought about this chapter I was like "so, Sigyn is just gonna hang out with Odin and everyone is gonna be OK with that?", it didn't seem right for me. Considering how much people loved and respected Queen Frigga, surely they would have to say something about it...  
> I was looking for the Old Norse word for "whore" but didn't find it XD

**III**

"Good morning, Nafarr" Sigyn said joyously to the tall and lean asgardian that was carrying some new swords, surely for the asgardian soldiers.

"Hmmf…" he muttered something unintelligible and keep walking.

That was the fifth time someone on that same week did that to her. Anyway, she continued walking towards the river and when she got there she placed the containers she had been carrying on the floor and rolled up her sleeves.  
That river had been filled with flower petals on the day of the funerals of the Queen, Eyja and the other Asgardians who perished when the Dark Elves attacked. Now, its crystal clear waters allowed to see an exotic and colorful vegetation at the bottom. Sigyn needed aquatic plants to continue her experiments.

She noticed a couple of asgardians sitting next to the riverbank.

"Greetings, asgardians" she smiled, but the smile didn’t return from them. Instead, they stood up quickly and left.

The sixth time in that week.

Trying not to think much about that, she approached carefully to the river and bent over it to take some plants.

_“I hope she falls on that river and drowns”_

Sigyn continued taking the plants, pretending she had not heard the fleeting comment an Asgardian woman mentioned when passing by. The woman was walking with some other friends, and they all laughed. Sigyn looked at them and they walked faster, disapproval expressions on their faces.

I hope she falls on that river and drowns. Those were her exact words.

Between the uncomfortable looks, the non-correspondent greetings and the rude comments towards her, she knew something was not right.

—————————————————-

Sigyn had been visiting Odin regularly at the Palace for six months. The guards did not question the King's orders, as Loki had said, and were responsible for accompanying her wherever he was and then leaving her there without further comment. Her neighbors sometimes noticed how she could spend days away from home before returning back again, and some of them started wondering where she went.

As for her, she couldn’t be happier. Being with Loki at the palace was a relatively simple task as long as he had enough time to conjure up some illusion of Odin while the real Loki locked up in some room alone with her. In case there were very important issues, Loki attended meetings disguised as Odin, and at the end of the day he always returned to the arms of his beloved Sigyn. She was the one who asked Loki not to spend their nights together in the King's bedroom (she didn’t feel able to sleep in the same bed where Odin had slept before), so Loki had to conjure an illusion of Thor's father sleeping and sneak into the room he had originally in the palace, where she was already waiting for him.

With all those precautions both had managed to handle the secret very well... until Loki asked Sigyn if she wanted to accompany him on a walk through the city.

  


That day Odin had to supervise the construction of some buildings, and he asked Sigyn to go as well. _“You’re crazy_ -she said, _I’m not allowing anyone on Asgard to see me with you”_ , but Loki insisted:

_“We can’t hide forever inside the palace, dear. It is going to be an innocent walk. Just you and the King”_

Of course, the asgardians were surprised to see her with Odin. She could feel their judging looks with every step they took: a look full of confusion and shortly afterwards, a silent but penetrant hate. And that even considering they weren’t doing anything indecent, not even taking hands or walking too close together. Loki insisted they should take more walks like that and she agreed. It was complicated because she didn’t want to hide forever at the palace, but at the same time she felt that this was going to cause them problems sooner or later. Mostly to her.  

—————————————————-

She was walking back home from the river when she heard some more whisperings behind her back. Just some months ago the asgardians seemed to feel sorry about her and all the horrible things that happened (Loki’s death, Eyja’s death), but now they were looking at her like she was a stranger, like she had made something horrible they wouldn’t ever approve. Of course, all of that hate towards her came from the illusion she was spending much time with the King, and maybe even the nights on his bed.

_“How she dare”_

_“This is an insult to Queen Frigga’s memory”_

_“She just wants to secure a position at the palace, how shameful”_

_“She’s a whore”_

That was it. Enough. She went directly to the palace.

—————————————————-

"It is always good to have you back, Thor!"

Fandral raised his cup, followed by Hogun, Volstagg and Lady Sif. Thor smiled briefly before raising his cup too and drank with his friends. He had just come back to Asgard from another mission on the Realms.

"Are you staying with us this time?"

"No, Volstagg, I’m afraid I'm not" Thor gave another drink to his cup. "The safety of the Nine Realms is on my hands"

"Oh, well… such a shame. But please don’t forget about us"

"Never, my friends! I won’t"

"Things are starting to go back to normal here", Sif said, "after all the mess the Dark Elves did"

"I am glad to hear that. Even if you don’t believe it, but I miss being home"

"Well, you have more friends on Midgard now" Fandral said, slightly resentful. "I bet you enjoy their company as well"

"Oh yes" Hogun added, "those humans. The… Revengers?"

"Avengers, my friend. The Avengers" Thor smiled.

"Well, those"

"Oh, come on Fandral!" Thor approached him and gave him an affectionate pat on the back. "Don’t be jealous. None of you"  

They smiled. It was indeed always good to get back home, even though Thor missed Jane a lot and, why not, the Avengers as well.

"I have to visit my father, he must missed me as well. Now that my mother is dead and I am away, he’s all alone in the palace..."

The Warriors Three looked at each other nervously, drinking quickly.

"What? Something happened?", Thor asked.

Nobody answered. There was an uncomfortable silence that Thor broke asking if everything was alright.

"Well… your father has found someone to keep him company so he doesn’t miss you"

"What?" Thor couldn’t believe what Sif just said. "Company? What do you mean with that?"

They looked at each other again before Hogun spoke: "Thor we have to tell you something…"

"But please don’t get mad", Volstagg continued. "It may be something completely different that what we are thinking. While you were gone… well… someone started to visit very frequently the palace. Even staying there for days in a row”.

"Someone? Who?"

"Sigyn", Sif answered. "She visits your father quite regularly"

"And not only that" Fandral added, "she has been seen very frequently with him walking on the streets, sitting at the lake, talking animatedly at official events..."

"Asgardians have started talking", Volstagg said, in a lower voice. "They don’t like her closeness to him. It’s like they were… uhm…"

"What?"

"A couple" Sif said, eyes filled with confusion. "I thought people were exaggerating but then I saw them with my own eyes. The way your father looks at her is… strange"

She shivered.

"And of course asgardians say she is disrespecting your mother’s name" Fandral concluded. "They are starting to say it looks like she’s trying to occupy her place"

Thor remained silent for a few seconds. He couldn’t believe it. Sigyn and Odin? Come on! It seemed like a joke, it was a total nonsense.

"Thor, where are you going?" Volstagg asked while the blonde prince took Mjolnir again and walked towards the exit of the tavern.

He didn’t answer.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor confronts Odin and Sigyn about their new closeness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the idea of Thor being jealous of his Father's time with Sigyn and also trying to defend Frigga's name. Also, I realy love the idea that after all the tricks and mischief Loki has done, he gives Sigyn a gift.  
> Something that would make her extremely happy.

**IV**

"I told you we were going to get into trouble. I TOLD YOU!"

"Sigyn, my love, relax…"

"DON’T TELL ME TO RELAX! THEY JUST CALLED ME A WHORE!"

Loki clenched his fists, that was something he wasn’t going to allow. They were having that argument in one of the many rooms the palace had, Sigyn walking back and forth along it and him sitting on a chair (on his original appearance as Loki), trying to think on a useful solution to that problem.

"You can give me the names of those who called you like that and I can have them hanged in public so nobody would ever dare to say that again to you"

She stopped for a moment and gave him a sarcastic look. "Oh, really? That’s the best you can think of?"

"Right, sorry. But, hey! they could die “mysteriously” in their sleep"

"If you are planning to kill every asgardian who thinks I am getting into the King’s bed to become the Queen, you would end up with an empty city"

"Good! More space for us"

She looked at him again, the playful grin she knew so well lighted up his face.

"Loki, what…?"

Some knocks on the door. Loki transformed into Odin again.

"Yes?"

"My King", a voice said behind the door, "Thor wants to see you"

Sigyn looked nervously at him. _“Should I go?”_ she asked, without making any sound. Odin said NO with a movement of his hand.

"Let him come"

  


Thor entered the room and almost drop Mjolnir as soon as he saw Sigyn there, alone with his father.

"My son! So glad to have you here"

"I just came back and thought about making a short visit to you, father", Thor spoke to Odin but his eyes were fixed in Sigyn, who felt terrible for that angry look. She didn’t want Thor to misunderstand things, she really appreciated him.

"And how are things out there?" Odin wanted to know.

"Good, they are getting… interesting", Thor finally looked away from her and faced his father. "I thought you may be feeling alone but I was wrong, apparently"

"Thor…" she said.

"As far as I knew you hated my father and now, what? Are you trying to make friends with him?"

"Thor" Odin said, very serious. "Lady Sigyn hasn’t done anything wrong"

"And what about you, father? Have you completely forgot about mother?"

"NEVER!", Odin stood up. "Never"

"Then could you explain to me what is going on here and why people on Asgard are saying those nasty things about you and Sigyn?"

She wanted to say the entire truth to Thor but at the same time she knew she couldn’t. That would be potentially dangerous.

"Sigyn has a gift with plants and herbolary" Odin said, calmly. "My health is not the same as it was before. I am old, and I’ve started feeling the weight of all my thousand years on my shoulders. Sigyn has been experimenting with some remedies that help me, and that’s why she’s at the palace that much. Even more, given her extraordinary abilities in the matter, I have offered her a permanent position at the palace so she can experiment more healing remedies with wounded asgardians, sponsored by me”

"I truly hope you are not trying to kill him" Thor said to her.

"Of course not!"

"Even when I know we hadn’t the best relationship in the past..." Odin continued, "I remember all the times your mother told me about Sigyn’s good heart. I’ve been wrong about many things, my son. Loki one of them, Sigyn another. I have apologized for making her suffer that much the first time we thought Loki was dead, and she is indeed such a good hearted woman, that she has accepted my apologies. She just wants to help”

"I see…" Thor had a lot of esteem towards Sigyn as well, but the thought of her with his father was disturbing.

"Thor…" she approached him. "You know how much I loved Frigga. She was like a second mother to me. I could never do something that dishonored her memory, or hurt you"

Thor sighed. "You still love Loki, right?"

"Of course I do. I will love him forever"

"Would there be another man you could love as much as you loved him?"

"No, never" she looked significantly to Odin. "I am completely devoted to him. Until the day I die"

"I told you, my son" Odin spoke softly. "She is a remarkable, faithful woman"

"He didn’t deserve your love" Thor said, jokingly.

"No, he didn’t" she looked at Odin again. "But I couldn’t help it"

Odin cleared his throat and then assured his son once again he had no other intentions with Sigyn. That seemed to leave Thor satisfied, and she decided to leave them alone so they could spend some father-son quality time.

As an excuse, everything that Odin/Loki had said was sufficiently credible. However, the way back home seemed eternal for her, and she thought that maybe she would have to live with the _“whore”_ label on her forehead for the rest of her life.

Fine then. Be it. Just Loki and her knew the truth.  

—————————————————-

About two days after their confrontation with Thor, Odin sent his guards to Sigyn’s home very early in the morning. Once inside, they started packing up her things.

"What is this?" she asked, confused.

"King’s orders", one of them said. "You have been named the Herbolary Expert of Asgard, and the Allfather requires your permanent staying at the palace to help all asgardians with your natural remedies, working closely with the healing team"

"Oh, so that was true…" she muttered.

"Besides that, the King has adapted a fully equipped laboratory at the palace so you can continue experimenting"

She almost screamed with joy, that was a wonderful gift from Loki. She didn’t care anymore about what the asgardians may think, for the first time in so long, she felt like everything was perfect.

  


They left, leaving empty the home Sigyn had lived in since she was a newborn. Eyja’s home.

She turned her head back one last time, saying farewell to that house, knowing that would be the start of something new.

It was, of course.

Sigyn never returned to that house again.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is almost impossible to think the asgardians wouldn't have noticed Odin had changed. Also, what happened to Sif and Heimdall? I try to answer those doubts here.
> 
>  
> 
> With this tiny chapter PART IV ends! Ragnarok events very very soon (I have to watch that movie for the 198th time and think how Loki's and Sigyn story fits on it. I'll find the way) 
> 
> Thank you again for reading. It means a lot <3

**V**

"I want a statue"

Sigyn was concentrating on reading a book in her laboratory when Odin came in and closed the door. She stared at him.

"What?"

"I’m going to build a big, golden statue of myself. I’ve always wanted one" Loki returned to his original form, walking towards her.

"Yourself? You mean actually YOU or Odin?"

"Do you think I would _ever_ make a statue of Odin? What would I write at the base? _To the worst father in the Nine Realms_?"

"Sounds appropriate" she smiled, giving him a brief kiss. "Do you ever check if he is alright?"

"He’s still on Midgard, and yes, he’s being taken care of. Nothing to worry about"

He looked proudly the lab. "I still remember how happy you were the first time you came in here, about a year ago"

"I am still happy!" she walked towards a big crystal table on the center of the lab, opened some recipients with strange flowers inside them and took some instruments from the shelves on the walls. "This is much more than I could ever dreamed of. Thank you, dear"

"I think it’s fair after all the pain I caused you in the past…"

"Well, I won’t ever believe you’re dead again. Never again"

"I hope I die before you"

She stopped for a moment. "Really? Why?"

"Life without you would be unbearable"

Sigyn came closer and kissed him again. "In that case I hope we both die together". She walked to the table again, putting out the flowers. "I saw you talking to Lady Sif yesterday. What did she want?"

"Oh… yes. She is becoming a problem. She has been making constant remarks of how much I seemed to have changed. Well, not me, Odin, obviously"

"Do you think she suspects?"

"Odin was a boring old man. I am much more entertaining. Yes, sure, I may have his appearance but I dress more freerly now, talk more with the asgardians, last month I inaugurated an art festival! Heimdall also noticed I have changed my manners drastically…"

"You have to act more like Odin, then. I‘ve told you that. The asgardians also noticed you have changed"

"I always say it’s because of your magic herbal potions, and they seem to like this new Odin"

"My potions are not for that! I’ve saved children lives with them, working together with the healing team"

"I know, I know…", Loki started walking in circles around the lab, thinking. "The only ones I fear may discover me are Sif, Heimdall and Thor. But I’ve sent Sif to Earth to investigate some things, and I’m planning to keep her there. Heimdall… he definitely knows something is not right, and I fear he may notice it one day. I can replace him with someone loyal to me to let me know when Thor comes back from one of his multiple, long trips across space…”

"Replacing Heimdall? Then you would have to tell someone else about your secret"

"I know someone who is perfect for the job, you’ll see…"

"Be careful"

"Everything will be just fine!" Loki smiled widely. "We’ve been doing this perfectly for almost two years. Don’t worry. As long as Thor is away nothing bad can happen. Let’s enjoy this, we deserve it”

  


And yes, they enjoyed that peaceful and happy existence for another two years until the day Thor came back from his visit to Surtur.


	24. Part V (during Thor Ragnarok)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor comes back to Asgard after being away for two years. He discovers Odin is really Loki in disguise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am back again ;) I'm bringing you Ragnarok! I saw the movie several times before writing this down to accurately represent how Loki & Sigyn's story would have happened in that movie.  
> I really hope you like it and again, thank you so much for reading!!!

 

**I**

 

_“Are you going to the play, my dear?”_

_“Is it strictly necessary, Loki? I went to the first 30 representations”_

_“I know but with every new representation it gets better and better. The first 20 didn’t include myself as a frost giant child and now people love that!”_

_“Uhm… Ok, fine, I’ll go. See you there, love”_

 

 _“The tragedy of Loki of Asgard”_ had been the longest play to ever get represented in Asgard’s history with more than 60 representations, one every seven days, all of them at the “Prince Loki” building: a gigantic structure built under Odin’s severe supervision, with a no less impressive golden statue of Loki at the entrance.

How many times Sigyn had seen that play already?, well, that day would be the 31st. She knew the story by memory, and even when she was 100% sure that wasn’t the way the events had actually happened in Svartalfheim (Sif and the Warriors Three weren’t there, to begin with), she felt it was a nice attempt for Loki to clean up his name and gain general approval and adoration by the asgardians.

She smiled remembering how Loki asked her to be on the play ( _“Your beauty would light up the stage, love. Who do you wanna play? Sif or Jane Foster?”_ ) and of course she had turned down the proposal. She wasn’t an actress nor she was interested on becoming one, the only thing she wanted to do was continuing experimenting with plants inside the tranquility of her laboratory, or working side by side with other asgardians at the Healing Facilities.

King Odin never missed a single representation of the play, always making suggestions and improving the dialogue. When she got to the building, The Allfather was talking joyfully to other women who were offering him some wine and grapes. Sigyn felt a slight pang of jealousy and decided to stay away from them, but Odin saw her and came closer.

"Lady Sigyn, such an honor to have you here today"

"A pleasure, my King…" she said, clenching her jaw.

"Are you alright, dear?" he whispered.

"No, not very much, with all those women around you" she whispered back, trying to appear calmed.

"Oh, it’s nothing, don’t you worry. They’re here to help…"

"My King? Should we begin?" the asgardian who represented Thor in the play asked.

"Yes, yes, let’s begin!" Odin smiled and quickly whispered _“Don’t get mad at me please”_ to Sigyn before returning to his place. She rolled her eyes and sighed as the play began.

  


Asgardians were applauding at the play’s ending, Sigyn included, thinking that definitely the costume design was so much better than the first fifteen times she had seen it. Odin was cheering and applauding as well, and she was about to return to the palace when the crowd dispersed and she saw Thor right among them.

"Father?" he said, looking at Odin.

"My son Thor has returned! Greetings, my boy" Odin announced, and the asgardians clapped again.

Thor! That was a surprise. For two years he had been gone on an intense mission across the Universe, searching for some magical stones, and now he was there. Even when she appreciated the blonde prince a lot and was always good to see him, in that moment she was more worried than happy. What if Thor discovered Odin wasn’t really Odin?

She discretely observed them talking: Thor was carrying a big skull that gave to one of the guards (no idea what was it), and then proceeded to complain to his father about the Nine Realms being in chaos. The blonde prince threw away Mjolnir menacingly at Odin, before quickly getting it back to his hand.

Sigyn didn’t like Thor’s attitude. It was so different from when he talked with his father in the past. Maybe he already knew.

Suddenly, Thor threw away Mjolnir again, this time with more strength. He then grabbed Odin’s head with one hand, while the hammer approached back dangerously. Sigyn’s heart skipped a beat, that hammer would crush Loki’s skull inevitably. She was about to scream Thor to stop when Loki broke the illusion and revealed himself in front of the Asgardians. The secret that only Loki, Sigyn and Skurge (Heimdall’s replacement) knew no longer existed.

Talking about Skurge… the new guard suddenly appeared between the crowd (covered on a sticky substance, Sigyn didn’t know why) and tried to announce Thor’s return. _“A little bit late for that”_ she thought.

Thor didn’t have time for games and demanded to know where was his father.

"Ok, I know exactly where he is" Loki confessed, his chest being painfully pressed by Mjolnir.

"Take me to him, now"

"I will if you let me breathe"

Thor put his Hammer down and Loki stood up. They were walking towards the exit accompanied by Skurge when Thor saw Sigyn.

"Greetings, Prince Thor", she made a bow with her head. "Welcome back"

"Sure… of course…" he laughed briefly. "Everything makes sense now"

"Now you understand why I spent so much time with your father?"

"Come with us, Sigyn" he said, walking again. "Good to see you"

 

—————————————————-

 

Skurge leaded the group to the Bifrost, followed by Loki, Thor and Sigyn.

"All this time you knew about his trick… and you didn’t tell me" Thor said to her.

"I knew about it some time after Odin reunited us all at the palace to say Loki had died. I also thought he was dead at first"

So you lied to her as well?" he looked disapprovingly to his younger brother.

"I couldn’t talk to her as soon as I would have wanted to", Loki defended himself. "I had to talk to you first, and then organize everything…"

"You haven’t organized anything, Loki", Thor answered, angrily, "The Nine Realms are in chaos, I told you. We have a big menace upon us and I’ve spent the last two years trying to stop it. The only thing you have cared about is your own good… and Sigyn’s"

"Is it wrong that I want to live a peaceful existence with her?"

"No, Loki. It’s not. What’s wrong is that you jeopardize the entire Universe while doing it"   

"I also am the one to blame, Thor" she said, feeling embarrassed. "I should have insisted Loki to help the other realms… I had no idea..."

"Don’t worry, Sigyn. It’s Loki’s fault and nobody else’s"

"My fault? I made Asgard prosper!" -replied Loki, angrily.

"If you are going to impersonate someone, impersonate the full package of responsibilities as well, Loki" 

They finally reached the Bifrost.

"I should go back to the palace" Sigyn said. "Good luck finding Odin, Thor"

"For your lover’s own good, I hope he is alive" he throw a quick killer gaze at Loki.

"I told you, he is!" the dark haired man sighed angrily and then proceeded to hug Sigyn. "Are you two going to stare at us? Go on! I’ll be right there"

Thor and Skurge turned around and headed to Heimdall’s observatory.

"Please be careful" she said, letting go of his embrace after a few moments, placing a kiss on his lips. "I know you have a proclivity to _die_  every now and then"

"But I’ve always found my way back to you, haven’t I?" he smiled playfully and started walking over the Bifrost. She waited there until he became a small figure on the horizon, and then headed back to the palace.

If Odin returned to Asgard, the consequences for Loki’s actions would surely be very serious, but she didn’t want to think about that.

Not yet.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hela returns to Asgard while Sigyn is still at the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted Sigyn to witness the amazing moment Hela returns to Asgard palace, so, here it is.

**II**

 

Sigyn had learnt many things during the last years, one of them was that books were a great company during times of worrying and waiting. That’s why as soon as she came back to the palace she went to the library, feeling a little more calmed surrounded by all those ancient books. 

A couple of hours passed by and she was trying to concentrate on a big volume about Asgard’s greatest poets, when she heard a loud noise of steps running outside. Feeling curious, she left the book and went out to investigate. 

_ “Quickly! Run! Asgard needs us” _

All of the palace guards (a military force named Einherjar) were getting in formation quickly, leaving the palace in organized groups. She asked one of them what was going on. 

"We have a strange visitor on Asgard, Lady Sigyn. The city is under alert"

"Where are the Princes? Is King Odin back again?"

"I’m afraid we don’t know"

The guard joined another group, and they left the palace as well. Sigyn was extremely confused. If the city was under attack again, that only meant that Thor and Loki had failed on their mission to bring Odin back. Or maybe they succeeded, but some of Asgard’s ancient enemies had took advantage of the time they were out to attack. 

Would it be Thanos? Sigyn remembered Loki’s frequent nightmares about him. He told her he was hiding from his reach in Asgard, hoping to never find him again, because that would surely mean his death.

Maybe Thanos had found Loki and now was about to attack. 

Some guards remained at the palace, but surely the city would be chaos, with the asgardians trying to go back to their homes, or escaping somewhere safe.

Not exactly knowing what to do, she returned to the library and waited there. 

 

—————————————————-

 

Some moments later, Sigyn decided it was time to go investigate what had happened and, very carefully, walked towards the main entrance. The palace looked abandoned, Sigyn’s steps the only sound inside the golden building. When she reached the Throne Chamber, she saw the main doors were open and was about to get out when one of the Einherjar guards entered the palace, staggered and fell to the floor. 

"Oh, no!" she approached quickly to him, trying to help him standing up. "What happened? Are you…?"

She discovered with horror that the guard’s uniform was covered in blood. He stood up with difficulty and looked at her.

"Sh… she…" he made a painful noise, while almost falling to the ground again.

"What? She who? What happened?"

"She is coming"

The guard closed his eyes and fell down again. She tried desperately to wake him up but it was useless, he was already dead. 

_ “She is coming” _ , what did he mean with that?  

Answering her question, in that very moment there was a sound of guards coming back to the palace. She could saw their shadows approaching the main door and quickly positioned herself behind a column, hiding. The rest of the Einherjar entered the palace and waited at the entrance of the Throne Chamber, pointing their spears and swords to the door. 

Suddenly, there was a rain of sharp, black spears that killed them all immediately. She had never seen something like that and got very afraid, so afraid she couldn’t move and stood right there, hiding behind the column. 

Two figures appeared, walking among the Einherjar’s corpses: one of them, Skurge, not so long ago Loki’s man of trust, designated to occupy Heimdall’s place while he was a fugitive; and the other one a pale, black-haired woman she had never seen before dressed in black with a green cape. 

"Does no one remember me?" she asked, approaching to the Throne. "Has no one being taught our history?"

She stopped to look at the mural on the ceiling, the one that represented Asgard’s peaceful history and achievements. Sigyn was trying not to breathe too loud, not to even move. Who was that woman and where were Odin, Loki and Thor? 

She called that mural a “lie”, and then proceeded to destroy it, using spears that magically came from her hands. 

_ “So that’s how she killed the guards”  _ Sigyn thought.

With a loud noise the mural came down. The black-haired woman talked about being Odin’s weapon on his conquest of other Realms, and how he banished her. She also mentioned something about ancient Asgard warriors being buried under the palace, and left the Throne Chamber, followed closely by Skurge.

Sigyn waited for some more moments before stepping away from the column. Very carefully, extremely alert at any sound, she walked towards the destroyed mural and looked above. There was another one underneath, unknown to her (and apparently, to all of her contemporary asgardians): a red mural telling a very different story, one filled with blood and war. She shivered.

Afraid that the strange woman (who also appeared on the original mural) may discovered her presence, she ran to the main door and escaped the palace. 


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sigyn reunites with the other asgardians who couldn't escape from Hela.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when the asgardians thought Sigyn was trying to seduce Odin and they acted like complete idiots towards her? Well, I wanted to redeem them here. I truly don't believe the asgardians are mean.

**III**

_“You have to get back home, get back home, get back home”_

Sigyn kept running though the streets while the city was in chaos. Almost everyone were leaving their homes, running in panic, trying to escape as soon as possible. She intended to go back to the house she once shared with Eyja.

    There was the sound of a big explosion in the distance. She could hear screams and cries for help approaching. She tried to run again but suddenly someone took her by her dress and made her stand back.

"NO! Don’t go that way, they’re coming" a tall, brunette woman took her by the hand and then ran to a building very near there. She opened a door with a key. "Come! Get inside!"

Sigyn did as the woman told her, and when the two women were inside, the brunette one closed the door and looked through the door’s peephole.

"Hey… thank you…"

"Shhhh!", the woman demanded, and then Sigyn heard the sound of many steps coming, followed by more screams.

"This way…" the woman walked away from the door and Sigyn followed her.

"Thank you. You saved me"

"No problem. I couldn’t let you die"

Sigyn looked at her again, this time with more attention. With a bittersweet surprise, she recognized her.

"Funny that you cared about my life when some time ago you wished for me to fall on a river and drown" Sigyn said to her.

The woman stopped for a moment and looked down, embarrassed.

"My behaviour was inappropriate. I’m sorry. Back in that day we all thought you were trying to seduce the King, but now we know he was Loki in disguise. Many apologies"

"Don’t worry" Sigyn encouraged her to keep walking. "Now we’re even"

They reached a small area that lead to a big room with around fifty asgardian men and women sitting on the floor, and they all stood up when the two women entered.

"Katla! You’re back!" a man hugged tightly the tall woman and gave her a kiss on the forehead, "I was so worried…"

"Fortunately I'm back" Katla said, looking at everyone in the room. "They are more deadly and faster than we thought. Just when they were approaching I saw Sigyn and brought her here"

The asgardians looked at Sigyn and she greeted them briefly. They seemed relieved of being there. She wanted to know more: "Are you hiding from her? The black-haired woman?"

"We’re hiding from her army" the man who had hugged Katla answered. "She has this skull-faced soldiers that are massacring all asgardians who want to escape the city. People are trying to defend themselves, but those things seem invincible"   

"They are wearing ancient asgardian military clothes" an old man said, "but they’re definitely not human"

"Who is she?" a young woman asked. "The dark-haired woman. I’ve never seen her before"

"I don’t know who she is, but I saw her at the palace, killing the last of the Einherjar" Sigyn answered, "she ended them brutally, very quickly. She uses some sort of magic to conjure up swords"

"Some of us saw her as well from our homes" another asgardian said. "We saw her killing half of the guards. After she left to the palace almost all asgardians went out of their houses and escaped to the forest. We couldn’t escape and so we hid here instead"

"Heimdall has been hiding in the forests since he was replaced by Skurge" Katla said. "He must be using the shelter at the mountains to hide the rest of the asgardians"

"Heimdall’s help would be useless if Skurge has the sword to open the Bifrost…" another man observed.

"He doesn’t have it" Sigyn said. "I saw him at the palace. He doesn’t have it"

"The sword is missing" a blonde woman said. "I went to the Bifrost to see if it was there. No sign of it"

The asgardians murmured.

"I am sure Heimdall has it" an old woman said. They all agreed.

"The sword wasn’t there, neither Heimdall but… I… I found something else at Heimdall’s observatory" the blonde asgardian added, very sad. "The corpses of Fandral and Volstagg. That woman must have killed them"

"Hogun is dead as well. I saw him impaled among the dead Einherjar" said other asgardian with a broken voice.

They all remained silent. The Warriors Three were dead, Thor and Loki were nowhere around, Odin didn’t come back, Lady Sif had been absent from Asgard for a long time. Heimdall was their only hope.

All of a sudden a powerful, commanding voice broke the silence. Even when the voice came from outside, it resonated loudly in every corner, every room and every open space of the golden city of Asgard:

_“I am Hela, Goddess of Death, Odin’s first born and rightful heiress to the Throne of Asgard. Odin is dead, as well as the Princes. I am your Queen now. Don’t you dare to put up resistance, or there will be consequences.”_

The group of asgardians gathered on that room let out angry exclamations:

_“What? That can’t be true!”_

_“She is not our Queen!”_

_“That’s impossible, Thor can’t be dead!”_

Sigyn noted some curious looks directed to her and decided to ignore them. She wasn’t going to believe Loki was dead anymore, not until she saw him with her own eyes.

"We are going to fight for Asgard!" a man exclaimed. "Let’s go to the palace and demand Hela some explanations!"

The crowd agreed and yelled bravely.

"WAIT!" another man shouted. "Wait. Those hideous monsters from Hela are on the streets right now, hunting down all who wants to escape. It should be better if we just wait until tomorrow, when things are more calmed. If we go out right now, we will die"

The asgardians thought about it for a moment and then nodded, understandingly. Yes, it was stupid to go out in that precise moment, when the city was still dominated by terror and confusion.

_“Let’s wait until tomorrow“_

—————————————————

That very night, trying to sleep while laying on the cold hard floor, Sigyn wished with all her might that Loki and Thor came back soon.

Of course, the mere thought of them being dead was enough to make her heart shrink with pain, but she was confident the words of Hela were just lies. Yes, obviously something bad had happened and that’s why she was there (maybe Odin was really dead), but not as bad as all asgardians thought. There was a ray of hope inside Sigyn and she was gonna cling to it until she found both princes again.

 _“I’ve always found my way back to you, haven’t I?”_ , those had been Loki’s last words to her before leaving Asgard. She had lost Loki two times in the past, and on both times he had returned to her. Maybe this time wouldn’t be different.

Still, she was worried. Very worried. Nobody knew for sure about Hela’s plans now that she was sitting on the Throne, but they surely wouldn’t be kind, and Sigyn didn’t know for how long they could resist her.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki's POV. He arrives to Sakaar and meets the Grandmaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wondered how Loki got to Sakaar and met the Grandmaster (there are some incredible fics out there about it, though)  
> Anyway, this is my version of it.  
> P.D. I really love the Grandmaster. He deserves 10 out of 10 Goldblums.

**IV**

The fall was hard. Very hard. And painful.

After the attack by Hela that made him change his route back to Asgard so abruptly, Loki went through unknown space tunnels (even for him) until he reached that place and fell really hard on the floor.

His eyes were closed but he wasn’t unconscious. Before opening them, he decided to evaluate if that place was safe using the rest of his senses: first of all, the smell. Oh, boy, it was hideous. It smelled like trash and dead animals.

Then, the touch, the sensations. He was sure he was lying on hard ground, that was good. He noticed something wet on his right arm. Blood? Maybe.

Finally, the sound: he could hear distant explosions and things falling off.

It was a good amount of information, but not enough to know where he had landed on. Still, he decided it was safe to open his eyes and stood up carefully, looking around. He was standing among all types of rubbish: broken spaceship pieces, useless objects, even dead animals. He could see a city on the distance. Above him it wasn’t much better: there were holes in the sky and trash kept falling from them, forming waste islands over dirty water. He looked at his right arm and surprisingly it wasn’t blood, but some type of oil. The whole floor had big stains of it.

Great, he was on a dump. Now what?

The sound of a spaceship approaching made him use one of his illusions to seemingly stand there, while the real Loki hid behind another amount of trash. From the ship descended some strange creatures, and based at how quickly they appeared Loki supposed that their function was to hunt any living creature that would appear in that place. They wore strange masks, and weapons. They were definitely not friends.

"Are you a fighter? Or are you food?" one of them asked at Loki’s illusion.

Food didn’t seem like a good option, so he said he was a fighter.

"In that case…" the creature said, while the others came closer. "Fight"

"Maybe on another occasion" Loki’s illusion ran away from the ship as fast as he could, jumping to the next waste island.

"Go! Go! Capture him!" the creatures ran behind him, leaving the ship alone.

 _“Well, that was fun”_ , the real Loki approached quickly to the ship, close it and sat on the driver’s seat. He managed to lift the spaceship up in the air, and headed to the city he had seen some moments ago.   

—————————————————

It turned out that flying that ship wasn’t as easy as he thought: it was old and rusty, some buttons didn’t work. He almost crashed into some buildings in more than one occasion, and when he reached the center of the city one of the motors stopped working. Loki tried to keep the spaceship up in the air, but it was getting lower and lower, threatening to hit the ground.

He was able to reach a big circular building that seemed like an arena, where the spaceship descended very quickly until hitting the floor with great rumble.

Another very hard, painful fall for Loki in the same day. Of course it wasn’t enough to kill him, but instead left him slightly confused on the floor, surrounded by broken and smoking pieces of the now destroyed spaceship.

He stood up with difficulty after some moments, looking better at the place he was in: it was definitely an arena, with many rows of seats that reached a considerable height. Such good luck that place had a floor covered with red and blue sand that somehow diminished the impact.

Almost immediately after he stood up, a lateral door opened and some type of guards in bright colors appeared, coming at him.

"The Grandmaster demands to know who dared to crash into his arena" one of them said when they reached Loki.

"And what does that mean?" he asked.

"You have to come with us"

—————————————————

Loki decided to play their game and followed them into the very tall building that stood next to the arena. There he was taken into a big room where a tall man was walking back and forth, angrily. Behind him was a big chair and next to it a bad-tempered woman. She gave Loki a hateful gaze as soon as he entered the room.

"Oh! There you are! Finally, thanks!" the tall man thanked the guards who had brought Loki there with a smile and then got serious again, looking at him. "So you are the one who crashed into my arena"

"It was an accident, I apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you…" Loki evaluated quickly his options. That man was wearing a golden, immaculate robe, and even when he seemed human, it was obvious he was in control of everything on that place. How did they called him? The Grandmaster? Such title indicated power, maybe absolute power, and Loki knew very well that if he wanted to survive he would need to seem docile and regretful.

"Do you have any idea of how much time did it take me to enslave other people to build it?" The Grandmaster was angry, really angry. "Is not something to just crash into!"

"You are right, sir" Loki seemed embarrassed. "Apologies. I didn’t have idea…"

"You don’t seem to be from here. Where do you come from and how long have you been on Sakaar?"

So that was the name of that place. Sakaar.

"I’m from Asgard and I got lost in space, went through one of those big portals in the sky and ended up in the dump, a few moments ago. I found a spaceship to fly here, but unfortunately it was very old and collapsed into the arena. _Your_ arena. I am extremely sorry"

"Kill him" the grumpy woman offered the Grandmaster a large stick with a big orange ball on the top. Loki didn’t know what type of weapon it was but obviously that crazy guy could use it to eliminate him. Of course Loki wasn’t going to let that happen.

"Yeah… I should kill him, right? I mean..." the Grandmaster thought about it for a moment. He seemed dubious and sat on the big chair. "He comes here and crashes into my arena… and he doesn’t even seem to be any entertaining to keep him alive..."

Oh, so that was it. Well, if that man wanted to be entertained, Loki could be as entertaining as possible.

"That’s not exactly true" Loki said, multiplying himself a dozen times, using his magic. "I can be _very_ entertaining, sir"

The Grandmaster’s face lighted up, he was thrilled with that magic trick. “Oh, look, Topaz, look! -he turned to the woman-. He knows magic! Amazing!”

Loki broke the illusion and smiled. However, the woman didn’t seem impressed.

"I think it’s dangerous", she said.

The Grandmaster’s expression changed. It was obvious he considered a lot that woman’s advice and opinions.

"Mmm… you’re right. Yes, yes, let’s be careful with him", he looked at Loki again. "Listen, you… uhm… what was your name again?"

"What name do you like?" he smiled, seductively.

"Oh, oh… I like this guy…" The Grandmaster flushed and laughed, nervously, while the woman rolled her eyes. Yes, Loki was being as flirtatious and charming as he could be, because he wanted to save his life.  

"Yeah, you seem to be a very _interesting_ creature, you" The Grandmaster confessed.

"Send him to fight against your champion at the arena -Topaz said, immutable-. Let him earn his survival"

"With all respect, sir", Loki said carefully to the Grandmaster, "I’m not very good at fighting. I’m not as… _entertaining_ as you would want me to be.  Instead, I can be a very good, funny and interesting companion. I know magic, among some _other_ things, and I can assure you my presence would be much better used if you let me be here, appreciating you in all your magnificence”

The Grandmaster smiled briefly, gathered his fingertips in thoughtful expression and stared at him for a few moments.  

"I like the way you talk" he said, finally. "I find you seductively interesting, as well. However, I don’t trust you yet. You will stay here at my palace and we’ll see if you are worthy of my affection. We’ll see”

Loki sighed, relieved. The first step was to secure his survival on that strange planet and if that guy was the ruler of Sakaar, he needed to gain his trust. He wasn’t there yet, but he was very confident of his charm. The Grandmaster would embrace Loki as one of his entourage, it was a matter of time.

Having achieved that, the second step would be much more easier: getting back to Sigyn.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki wins The Grandmaster's trust and he asks him one very special thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really had fun writing this, oh, also: hi Valkyrie!

**V**

Loki had been on Sakaar for a week now. During that time he had learned many things about that place: it was a waste planet, basically, where garbage arrived from different parts of the universe. Those holes in the sky were portals that connected planets and Realms, and there were so many no one knew for sure which one would go where, except for the greatest of them. That huge hole (conveniently called _“The Devil’s Anus”_ ) took you straight to Asgard.

Asgard. Sigyn.

Loki was confident that Hela's evil plan was not to destroy the golden city, but to rule it ( _“and Thor believed I was the evil son”_ he thought, sarcastically)

Something that deeply anguished him was knowing that days and days were passing by while he was there, trying to please the Grandmaster. Days and days in which Sigyn would be suffering, worried, at the mercy of Hela. It was almost unbearable. Infuriating.

He thought about stealing one of the Grandmaster's ships and going to rescue Sigyn but he knew that betraying him would mean death. Also, he wasn’t sure which ship would withstand the Devil's Anus without being totally destroyed. He didn’t want to die on the process. 

Loki had no choice but to wait, be charming and try to please the Grandmaster as much as he could.

—————————————————

Almost two weeks after he landed on that strange planet, Loki got invited by the Grandmaster himself to accompany him on a party in one of his many ships.

"Welcome to the Commodore!" the man said, joyfully, as Loki went on board, among some other people who had been invited to the celebration, too. The Commodore was a circular red, black and yellow ship, with enough space inside for a little party. Behind a door, there was a secret room with a mirror ball and a very comfy red carpet. A little bar was at the back of it, with a waiter serving drinks. As the ship took flight, a loud electronic music resonated inside it and the people started dancing and drinking.

"What are we celebrating, exactly?" Loki asked to the waiter, grabbing a drink.

"Nothing, The Grandmaster just likes to party" replied a beautiful woman, dressed in black armor, who was also at the bar. She had long, black hair on a ponytail and white marks on her face.

"Oh, really?", Loki asked her. "And why are you here?"

"Because I like to drink. Cheers!" she grabbed the whole bottle of alcohol and walked away. No idea who she was, but she also didn’t seem to be from Sakaar.

"Hey everybody, listen, listen!" the Grandmaster said, suddenly. He had been drinking as well and was more cheerful than usual. "I have something new to show you, look, look!"

He made a gesture to the driver and one of the doors of the ship opened. They were flying across Sakaar at great speed.

"This ship has a newly integrated fireworks system and now you are going to see…"

Suddenly, The Grandmaster slipped on his golden robe and was about to fall from the ship. Loki, being the one closer to the open door, reacted quickly and took him by the arm, saving his life. The door got closed abruptly, while all the people there remained in silence.

"You… saved me" The Grandmaster said, surprised.

"Oh, it was nothing. Don’t worry" Loki gazed at the driver’s seat. "Isn’t the driver a little bit drunk as well? What if we crash?"

"This ship is very fast and resistant, don’t worry, darling"

"Resistant? How much?"

"Enough to go through that, for example" the man pointed at the Devil’s Anus. "This one and my biggest ship are the only ones who could get inside it without a single scratch"

 _“That’s a very useful information, thank you very much”_ , Loki thought.

"Are you alright?" The Grandmaster wanted to know, "are you having fun?"

"Yes, sure. I am good. Thank you, sir"

Loki walked away from him, he needed another drink. Of course he wasn’t having fun. Not at all. He couldn’t stop thinking about Sigyn and wishing she was there.

The waiter had long blonde hair and blue eyes. He reminded Loki of Thor.

Thor! Well, maybe he got to Asgard, after all. Maybe he had saved them from Hela (Loki doubted it, but it was a possibility for small that it seems) and everything was good. Maybe he was dead (another possibility), or maybe he had gone through a space passage just like Loki and ended up on another planet. Who knew?

The important thing was that Sigyn wasn’t there.

—————————————————

It was almost dawn when the spaceship finally landed on the ground and the party ended. Almost all of the guests went out of it crawling, very drunk, except for Loki, The Grandmaster and that mysterious woman with the white marks on her face. She left as soon as they landed, carrying with her some more bottles of alcohol.

Loki was left alone with The Grandmaster. It was the perfect time.

"What a lovely par…"

"You saved my life, don’t you think I forgot" The Grandmaster interrupted him. "Congratulations! You have gained my trust. I’m gonna give you new clothes, I’m sure a yellow cape would look _majestic_ on you. On a couple of days we will have another Contest of Champions and you will be seated next to me on my private balcony"

"Wow! That’s… incredible, Grandmaster. Thank you very much"

"You want to have sex?"

Loki stared at him, surprised.

"Is… is that a proposal?"

"Ohhh you are naughty, aren’t you? We can do that if that’s what you want" The Grandmaster smiled playfully, "but I was talking about something else. Do you like men? Women? Both? You can have them all! Anything you want!"

"Ah! I understand… uhm, no. I don’t want that. Thank you", Loki couldn’t believe his good luck. He had won his trust, at last.

"Don’t be shy, there must be something you really want" The Grandmaster insisted.

"Actually… yes, there’s something I want. Don’t get me wrong, I think this place is amazing, I really like it, but it’s not perfect. Not until I get someone to be here with me"

"Someone?"

"Grandmaster, I told you I come from Asgard. There lives a very special woman for me. I need to use one of your ships so I can bring her here. That’s all I want. I’m growing desperate every day just by thinking she’s trapped there while I’ve spent weeks here"

"Time’s different on Sakaar. You may think you have been here for weeks but in other planets have been only days, maybe even hours"

The Grandmaster thought about Loki’s asking for a moment, and he finally said:

"Alright, alright, alright. I will personally give you one of my ships so you can go to Asgard, rescue your special person and bring her here. And, since I really like you, you will be accompanied by some very skilled soldiers of mine so you will have a secure trip"

"That’s very generous of you. Thank you, sir"

"BUT..." he raised a finger, "it will be after my Contest of Champions. You will have to wait for another few days"

"No problem"

"Be careful, because if you do something wrong, something bad, if you steal one of my ships and try to escape, if you do anything that makes me angry… forget about me helping you. Sakaar will become a very hostile place for you. Do you understand?"

"Understood"

 

The plan was amazing. Loki really liked Sakaar as a place to start over. Away from Asgard, he and Sigyn could forget about all the pain from the past and begin a new life. Even more, his privileged position gave Loki an opportunity to rule it one day. It was perfect.

Still, he knew he couldn’t trust him. The Grandmaster was a funny, easy going man most of the time, but a ruthless tyrant as well. If Loki ran out of favour with him someday, he would have to make something really extraordinary to gain his trust again. That’s why the next day he disguised himself as Topaz and stole the security codes for having access to all of his ships, in case The Grandmaster forgot about his promise of helping him. It was always good to have a Plan B, Loki knew it better than anyone.

He just had to wait until that Contest of Champions was over and then he will be with Sigyn again. Nothing bad could happen...

 

That’s what Loki thought, but one day Thor appeared on Sakaar and changed all of his plans.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The asgardians have to escape as Hela goes after the Bifrost sword. While trying to do so, they discover Thor and Loki are back with some friends that help them defeat Hela, with terrible consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a hard day for the asgardians.   
> A very hard day.

**VI**

Sigyn marched alongside the other asgardian men and women who went to confront Hela. She had arrived to Asgard the day before, already bringing death and chaos. The people reached the palace, and seeing that the main doors were closed, they started to hit them, trying to knock them down. However, all of their effort was in vain, because Hela sent her army of skull-faced soldiers to stop them. 

Fortunately there weren’t any deaths, the soldiers just pushed the asgardians back and positioned themselves in front of the doors, waving their swords menacingly. It was a warning that the asgardians understood, and they retired slowly, feeling hopeless.

They went to one of the many public gardens and talked for a while, trying to decide what was the best thing to do. Even when they wanted to fight back for their city, they also knew it was impossible to even think they could defeat those soldiers before getting to Hela. Finally, they decided the only possible solution was to surrender and escape to the shelter it the mountains, where they would surely find Heimdall and the rest of their people.

The asgardians were about to move when they got surrounded by Hela’s hideous monsters, who obliged them to walk towards a public plaza. 

—————————————————

"Asgardians, some misguided soul has stolen the Bifrost sword. Tell us where it is or there will be consequences. Bad ones" Skurge was talking to the asgardians, Hela standing right in front of them with another monster behind her: a gigantic black wolf, ready to attack at her command. She went down some stairs, eyes fixed on the crowd.

"You" she pointed, and Sigyn was pushed aside when two skull soldiers walked into the crowd and grabbed a blonde asgardian woman, throwing her violently to the floor, in front of them.

Sigyn recognized her immediately: she was the one who had gone to Heimdall’s observatory the day before, and found Volstagg and Fandral’s corpses. The blonde asgardian was crying, terrified. Skurge walked towards her, carrying a big axe. People couldn’t believe what they were about to see, it was impossible. Skurge made a quick movement, lifting up the axe and Sigyn closed her eyes instinctively, when the voice of an asgardian man screamed: “WAIT!” 

She opened up her eyes and looked at him, that man told Hela he knew where the sword was. Both soldiers grabbed the asgardian and left, followed by Hela, the wolf and Skurge, leaving the asgardians alone.  

Some people helped the blonde woman to stand up. She was still crying, this time with relief. 

"Heimdall can see Hela approaching" Sigyn told the asgardians. "He’s going to escape before she gets to the mountains, and we have to escape as well. Hurry up, let’s go!"

They ran to the Bifrost. 

—————————————————

_ “Hey! Look! I can see them!” _

_ “They’re coming to us!” _

_ “They escaped!” _

Sigyn and the rest of the asgardians screamed with joy when they saw the rest of their people approaching to the Bifrost as well. When both groups reached the beginning of the rainbow bridge there were more cries of happiness, hugs and tears. Heimdall walked among the crowd and placed himself at the front, carrying the Bifrost sword on his back. 

"Asgard!", he shouted, "lets go!"

_ “Finally - _ Sigyn thought, walking with the other asgardians-.  _ We’re gonna escape from here, we’re gonna go somewhere safe. Please Loki, please, find me again” _

Her hopes fell down quickly when they heard a threatening growl, still far from where they were. They stopped walking and when the mist dissipated at the furthest point of the Bifrost, they could see clearly Hela’s big black wolf standing right in front of Heimdall’s observatory, ready to attack them. 

"GO BACK!, GO!" Heimdall yelled as the wolf ran directly towards them.

Sigyn stopped when she heard several shots. When she turned her head back, a big black, yellow and red circular spaceship was flying above the Bifrost, firing at the wolf. She only stopped for a moment and then got pushed forward by the rest of the asgardians, who were running in panic. However, they didn’t get far: Skurge was right on the other side of the rainbow bridge, accompanied by Hela’s army. The asgardians were trapped, there was no escape.   

"Heimdall! The sword!" Skurge demanded, as Hela’s soldiers started to attack them. Some asgardians had swords and try to fought them, but those monsters were faster and letal. Even worse, the wolf was approaching dangerously on the other side. 

Heimdall took the Bifrost sword, ready to defend his people, while Sigyn and the asgardians waited there, holding their breaths. The wolf was about to reach them when all of a sudden a man crashed into the Bifrost, remaining unconscious after the hard impact. The wolf sniffed him quickly before running again after the asgardians. 

Luckily for them, the wolf was stopped by a big, green monster before it could hurt Heimdall. No idea where he came from, but apparently he was a friend: he fell off the bridge alongside the wolf, saving the asgardians. No time to celebrate though, Hela’s soldiers attacked again, and they were winning. 

"What should we do now?" a terrified asgardian asked Sigyn.

"We have to fight, there’s no other way!"

She prepared herself for the worse, knowing that if one of those skull soldiers attacked her it would surely be the end. Still, she was gonna try, she was going to die fighting. 

A strange sound interrupted the fight, the asgardians turn around and tried to perceive something among the very thick mist that was in front of them. They stood in silence as the mist dissipated and a tall silhouette wearing a cape and a big horned helmet greeted them, opening his arms in triumphal gesture: 

_ “YOUR SAVIOR IS HERE!” _

Sigyn almost fainted. It was Loki. 

"Did you miss me?" he asked to the crowd, as he descended from the ship. "Everyone on that ship, now"

He passed a few meters from Sigyn, without noticed her. There was no time for reunions, so she didn’t say anything and hurried to get on the ship. 

When she was approaching to the ship, there was the biggest, loudest thunder she had ever heard and the whole sky lighted up. The asgardians noticed with relief that Thor was back again, fighting Hela’s army. On the other side of the bridge there was an spectacle as well: the ship that fired at Hela’s wolf was on it, throwing fireworks. 

_ “Go, go, go, keep moving!” _

While Thor and his friends were fighting the soldiers, the asgardians kept entering the ship. The last thing Sigyn saw before getting on it were Loki, Thor and an unknown woman dressed as a Valkyrie walking towards Hela, who was already on the bridge. 

—————————————————

Heimdall was the last one to enter the ship, and as soon as he got inside it, it took off. However, they remained exactly where they were: something had stopped the ship. There were fear and confusion on the asgardians’ faces. 

Sigyn heard some panic yells and discovered that some soldiers of Hela were about to get in the ship. Fortunately, Skurge (she didn’t know he was there as well) shoot at them and then got off the ship to stop them. He wasn’t that bad, after all.

The ship finally ascended and they flew away from Asgard.   

"LOOK! AT THE WINDOW!" a man yelled. They all ran to a very big window on one side of the ship: Surtur, an ancient enemy of Asgard, was standing where the palace had always been. The prophecy said that if Surtur returned back to Asgard, that would mean  _ Ragnarok _ , the end of it. Now, the asgardians were completely shocked, watching that prophecy coming true as that gigantic fire monster destroyed brutally their home. 

The people left some surprised exclamations when Thor, Valkyrie and the big green monster suddenly appeared, making their way to the front. Sigyn’s heart shrinked: Loki wasn’t with them. 

They all remained silent as they watched Asgard being devoured by flames, exploding immediately afterwards. 

 

Asgard, their home, their Realm, completely destroyed, while the survivors were floating on a big ship across the space, without anywhere to go. 


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Asgard is destroyed, the survivors float on space in that ship while Sigyn searches for Loki and they get reunited.  
> Their new King, Thor, decides they will go to Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many things happen in this chapter:  
> -Thor has a few words with Sigyn  
> -She gets help to find Loki from one of the BEST characters in the MCU  
> -Loki gets a very special moment with the asgardians 
> 
> With this chapter I close everything that has happened in the MCU so far. It was difficult to write this chapter because I have ZERO idea of what is going to happen in Infinity War. If Loki dies, this fic ends. If Loki lives but the asgardians die, this fic ends (its Loki's & Sigyn's tale, after all). After IW Im gonna write an epilogue to this fic. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this fic. I wrote it during a very hard moment in my life and it was like therapy for me. I tried to reflect their imaginary relationship in a believable, MCU-accurately way.  
> I truly hope you have liked it.

**VII**

Some moments after getting over the fact Asgard was destroyed, the people finally realized they were alive, after all. They all started to hug each other, breathing relieved, tears of joy on their faces.  

Sigyn hugged some asgardians as well, but her face wasn’t smiling. She tried not to think the worst (that Loki surely have died and that’s why he wasn’t there) and instead focusing on the other brighter possibilities: maybe he had escaped using the other spaceship. Maybe he was indeed on the ship, searching for her. If there was even the slightest possibility he was alive, Sigyn was decided to search that whole ship until finding him.

Making her way among the crowd, she stumbled across Thor, who also was trying to get out of there.

"Lady Sigyn!" he smiled. "I’m so glad to see you again"

"Thor! What happened to your eye?!"

"What, this?" he pointed the place where his right eye used to be. "Meh, it’s nothing. A souvenir from my sister. I’m fine, don’t worry"

"Now you look like your father"

"Uhm, he's dead, by the way"

"I thought so. I am sorry"

"He died peacefully so I guess it wasn't that bad. He's with my mother, finally"

"If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. None of us. Thank you"

"It was not only me, I had some help"

"Yeah… talking about that, do you know where’s Loki?"

Thor’s face showed concern: "I thought he was with you already. Last time I saw him was on the Bifrost. He was the one who got back to the palace and brought Surtur to life again"

"Oh, so it was him?!"

"It was the only way to destroy Hela, I asked him to do it"

"You did?!"

"Yeah, so… technically, if something bad actually happened to him… it was because I…"  

Both remained silent for a moment, Thor visibly embarrassed.

"I don’t think he’s dead" he said, suddenly.

"He has _died_ so many occasions in the past that I no longer believe it. Maybe he managed to escape" Sigyn suggested.

"You never know with Loki…"

"Yes, you’re right. Anyway, thank you again. I’m gonna keep searching for him"

"If my brother is alive..." (Sigyn smiled when she heard Thor referring to Loki as his _brother_ , again) "...he’ll come back to you. Don’t worry"

He gave her a small pat on her shoulder and walked to the exit, leaving that huge room with all the Asgardians inside it.

—————————————————

Sigyn had been searching for Loki for a while, realizing it would truly be a miracle if she managed to find him. That spaceship was enormous, and the asgardians were slowly getting familiar with the different spaces and the layout. It was their new home, after all.

When she entered a small room, she fell on a pile of rocks that was in the middle of it. However, the pile of rocks started moving and Sigyn quickly stood up, a little bit scared. It turned out that the rocks were a living creature, who was holding a pink thing that looked like a giant insect.

"Oh, hi! I’m Korg. This is Miek, well, he _was_ Miek" he pointed at the pink insect. It seemed dead.

"I am sorry. I didn’t see you, did I hurt you?"

"I’m fine. No problem. You looking for someone?"

"Yes, I am, actually. I don’t know if you know him, his name is Loki"

"Sounds familiar…"

"He is pale and tall, with long, black hair. He uses a golden helmet with horns…"

"Oh I know him! He was the leader of our Revolution"

"Your what?"

"We did a Revolution on Sakaar. It was such good luck we found him because I was planning to be the leader and then I found out I didn’t know anything about how to lead a Revolution"

Sigyn blinked, confused.

"Anyway, I saw him on the main deck before I came here" Korg continued. "He was also looking for someone. A woman named Sigyn. Is your name Sigyn?"

"Yes! I am Sigyn!"

"Oh! That’s good. If you were named differently that would have been very awkward"

"So you saw him on the main deck, right? Thank you very much!" she ran, leaving the room.

"What a nice woman" Korg waved his hand at her and smiled.

—————————————————-

She had to stop for a moment to recover her breath when she reached the main deck. Many asgardians were still there, so it wasn’t gonna be easy to find him, but at least she had a place to start. She began to look for his face on every asgardian.

"Sigyn!"

A very well-known voice said her name out loud. She slowly turned back and there he was, finally, the person she cared about the most in that ship (and honestly, in the entire Universe). He was smiling. She smiled too. Both ran towards each other and hugged tightly, with their eyes closed. Oh! How good it felt to hug him again. It was perfect.

Even when she didn’t want that moment to end, it was interrupted by Loki himself, who muttered _“uh-oh”._

"What happened?" she moved a little to watch his face.

"I guess I don’t have many friends here"

Both were surrounded by the asgardians, who stared at Loki.

"Here they come. The angry people" he said, before letting go carefully of her. Sigyn didn’t know exactly what to do.

"So, I know you are angry at me because I lied to you and pretended to be Odin for four years" Loki said to them. "But, in my defense, I want you to know…"

"We don’t want to talk about that anymore" an asgardian said while the rest of them got closer. Loki placed himself in front of Sigyn, ready to defend her, if needed.

"Listen, I can explain…" he said, before being interrupted again by another asgardian.

"Odin is dead and Asgard is destroyed. It doesn’t matter anymore. We just wanted to say… thank you"

Both Loki and Sigyn looked at each other, confused, and then back to the asgardians. "What?"

"Thank you, Loki" an old asgardian woman said. "Thanks to your help we are alive"

_“Thank you”_

_“Thank you, Loki”_

_“Thank you”_

That was impossible. The asgardians were thanking him! And they all had kind smiles on their faces! What was going on?

Sigyn also joined the asgardians, facing Loki, thanking him as well.

"Oh, come on…" he said, laughing nervously. "Stop doing that. It’s not necessary. Stop!"

The asgardians smiled one more time at him and then started walking away, leaving the couple alone.

"So, are you a hero now?" Sigyn asked, playfully.

"I guess that’s more of my brother’s job" he smiled.

"One’s never sure when it comes to you, right?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You should be proud of yourself" she added. "You have the recognition you always wanted. Are you satisfied?"

"Satisfaction is not on my nature, love"

She laughed and they kissed passionately. Oh! Perfection.  

"Do we have a room on this ship?" Sigyn asked.

"I found an empty one. Why?"

She held his hand and started walking.

"Take me there, then. Let’s see if we can leave each other _satisfied"_

—————————————————

Sigyn and Loki spent several hours on that room, and after making love (Loki said satisfaction wasn’t on his nature, but his face showed a very different thing), he explained to her all of his adventures in Sakaar, how he found Thor again and the things he had to do to get back to her. He also said that he had gone to Thor’s room before finding her, to let his brother know he was alive.

"You are calling him “brother” again!" she said, laughing.

"Oh, shut up" he smiled as well.

After some excruciating days of pain and worries, everything seemed to be fine. Sigyn always felt everything was fine when she was with Loki, and he felt the same.   

—————————————————

Thor summoned the asgardians to the main deck. Sigyn and Loki got there, both holding hands.

"You have to be at the front" she said to him. "Your brother needs you"

"I’ll see you in a moment, then" he kissed her hand and walked away.

Sigyn stood there alongside the asgardians, and they all bowed their heads respectfully as Thor, their new King, walked among them. At the front it was a chair (his new, provisional Throne) where he seated.

"So, King of Asgard" Heimdall spoke, and Thor waved smilingly at them. "Where to?"

"I don’t know, any suggestions?"

Sigyn had never left Asgard in her entire life. She was as expectant as the other asgardians. Thor asked his friends, and it turned out that big insect called Miek wasn’t dead after all.

"Earth it is" said Thor.

Earth. Midgard. That’s where they were going. It sounded good: the asgardians were alive, they had a big ship that would take them there, Thor had friends in that planet and most importantly, she and Loki were together again.

What could possibly go wrong?

 —————————————————-

After that reunion, Loki told Sigyn he needed to talk with his brother.

"I’m not very sure about his idea of coming back to Earth" he seemed uncomfortable. "They hate me there"

"Don’t worry, we'll be together. Go with your brother, I'll be waiting for you in our room"

Loki walked across the hall, while Sigyn went the other way. When he was about to exit, he stopped and called her: "Sigyn?"

"Yes?" she stopped as well and turned around to see him.

Loki reminded every single thing they had gone through together. Their story was one of love and loss, but a beautiful one after all.

"I love you" he said, like if it was the first time. He spoke from his heart.

"I love you, Loki. I always will" she smiled. It was the warmest smile he had ever seen.

 

They kept walking.


End file.
